starting at 7:25 and every half hour after that bringing you any developing news. have a great day. good morning. chilling plot, the fbi thwarts an attempted terror attack on the federal reserve building in new york city. a 21-year-old man now in custody in new york after trying to detonate what he thought was a bomb by remote control. rough and tumble, president obama and governor romney took their fireworks from the debate to the campaign trail. they share the stage at a charity event tonight. and thin ice. that's what this guy thought he was about to encounter as he prepares to take a chilly dip. unfortunately for him, it was frozen solid. he's okay, but his ego is badly bruised today, thursday, october 18th, 2012.

captions paid for by nbc-universal television and good morning, everyone. welcome to "today" on a thursday morning. i'm savannah gurthrie. >> and i'm matt lauer. the suspect in that terror plot came to this country a little earlier this year on a student visa. but authorities say his real motivation was to carry out a deadly attack on americans. >> he was arrested wednesday after he allegedly tried to set off what he thought, according to investigators was a bomb at the federal reserve in lower manhattan. but the device was made of inoperable materials, part of an elaborate sting operation. more on the story straight ahead. also rough weather over parts of the south. powerful storms toppled trees and knocked out power to

thousands in places like arkansas and mississippi. al's going to tell us what to expect today. and we're going to talk politics including a comment from mitt romney's son tagg. he said he wanted to quote take a swing at the president for some of the attacks on his dad. the romney campaign said this was just a joke. we'll get into that. let us begin on this thursday morning with that foiled terror plot targeting the federal reserve building here in new york city. wnbc's chief investigative reporter, good morning. >> reporter: good morning, matt. the fbi says this bangladeshi man had been scouting several buildings in lower manhattan but ultimately choosing the federal reserve building. he boasted about wanting to kill hundreds of people and he hoped to quote destroy america. a 21-year-old from bangladesh entered the united states in january on a student visa.

but authorities say his real purpose for coming was violent jihad. he was arrested and appeared in court late wednesday charged with attempting to use a weapon of mass destruction. >> this individual came with an express purpose of committing a terrorist attack. he was motivated by al qaeda. >> reporter: his residence in queens was searched by investigators looking for cell phones, blackberries, computers, anything the suspect may have used to carry out his terror plot. >> when i saw him, i saw him alone. i didn't see anyone with him. >> reporter: after one semester at southwest missouri state university, he moved to new york. federal agents say in july he was trying to recruit others to help carry out his attack. meeting with one man several times, once in new york central park. that man turned out to be an fbi informant. and from that moment on, he was under intense surveillance by the fbi, homeland security agents, and new york police.

court documents say he wrote an article he hoped would be published by a jihadist website saying quote, targeting america's economy is the most efficient way to draw the path of obliteration of america. authorities say he first set his sights on the new york stock exchange but was scared off by the amount of security. by last month, he decided to target the federal reserve. both buildings just a few blocks from ground zero. >> new york is the top of the terrorist target list in this country. and i think this just reaffirms that. >> reporter: last week, the fbi informant purchased 1,000 pounds of what he thought was fertilizer, that could be used to make a bomb. and helped assemble a device in a warehouse. on wednesday morning, authorities say he drove his would be bomb in a van and parked it in front of new york's federal reserve building. he repeatedly dialed a cell phone he thought would detonate the bomb. >> reporter: again, officials

say he was trying to recruit others, he communicated online, we're told with a san diego man. that san diego man was arrested, but not for terror charges. officials say a search of that man's computer turned up child pornography. new york investigators tell us they believe he was acting alone in the bomb plot. matt, back to you. >> jonathan, thank you very much. nbc terror analyst is the former director of the national counterterrorism center. michael, good morning to you. >> good morning, matt. >> this guy comes to this country on a student visa, studies for a semester at this university in southern missouri studying, i think, cyber security. so he's not on any watch list and he doesn't raise any red flags. how troubling is that? >> i don't think it's particularly troubling, matt. obviously when someone comes to the u.s. on any kind of visa. to include a student visa, visas used by some of the hijackers on 9/11, they get a lot of scrutiny. but it's very possible he would

be what would be known there's no previous activity that would suggest terrorism. and the good piece was that the fbi identified him early on through his communications and saw he was radicalized and seeking to -- seeking to attack the u.s. >> you talk about that. so he reaches out to someone trying to recruit that other person to become a part of the jihad and carry out an attack. the man he contacted turns out to be an fbi informant. was this just luck? is that how this was uncovered? >> it really isn't luck. this is very good investigative work by the joint terrorism task force, the fbi, and the new york police department. in new york city, and it goes on across the country. it is making sure that these agents and these informants are in circles where someone like a student reaches out for accomplices. and in this case he did reach out to an fbi source. it is good positioning, it is

understanding where these people interact and being in the right place. >> according to court documents, he was very concerned his attack fall under the al qaeda label. he allegedly asked that fbi informant, quote, the thing i want to ask you about is this that the thing i am doing, is it under al qaeda? the undercover agent said yes. and michael, he'd originally told that informant he was willing to die in this attempted attack. but he was told by the informant it wasn't necessary. he could detonate this device by remote control. anything jump out there? >> well, it's not that uncommon that even these lone wolves want to do this in al qaeda's name and they want to feel like they are part of something larger. so one of the great ways that the fbi's been able to get these people to work with them is say, oh, yes, we work with al qaeda when communications with al qaeda overseas. and that has convinced these people that they can trust these informants. >> michael, thank you very much. >> thanks, matt. >> savannah? thanks. two days after trading jabs in the debate, president obama and

governor romney will be back in new york tonight on the same stage. while a comment from one of romney's sons is making some waves. nbc's peter alexander has the latest from the campaign trail this morning. good morning to you. >> savannah, good morning to you. we'll play that comment for you from tagg romney in a moment. but first, the next debate isn't until monday in florida. but both candidates will share the spotlight one more time before then. that is tonight taking part in the al smith dinner, a presidential tradition takes place in manhattan. they're going to speak back-to-back at the formal evening that's supposed to be filled with laughs, not partisan swipes. but of course, comes in the middle of a decidedly bitter week. >> we need to take back america. it's up to you guys in virginia. >> reporter: after a fiery debate, the heated arguments between mitt romney and barack obama showed no signs of cooling wednesday night. >> actually, he seems to spend most of his time in these debates talking about why my plans aren't going to work. i wish he'd spend a little more time explaining why his plans have not worked.

>> you've heard of the new deal, ohio. you've heard of the fair deal. mitt romney's trying to sell you a sketchy deal. but we're not buying it. >> reporter: at his evening stop in ohio, his 16th trip to the battleground this year, the president's even made this plea. >> i want your vote. i am not too proud to beg. i want you to vote. >> reporter: the latest flash point between the two men, women. the nation's largest demographic, with recent polls showing a narrowing gap between the two. both sides trying to cast the other as an economic threat. >> this president has failed america's women. they've suffered in terms of getting jobs -- >> reporter: the obama campaign tried to capitalize on the town hall's most enduring lines. governor romney recalled his efforts to hire more women in massachusetts. >> i said, can you help us find folks? and brought us whole binders full of women. >> we don't have to collect a

bunch of binders to find qualified, talented young women ready to learn and teach in these fields right now. >> reporter: mr. romney's binders comment was quickly mocked across the internet and drove a democratic group to buy the website bindersfullofwomen.com. producing this video of the former cabinet members praising his leadership. >> he totally gets working women. >> reporter: meanwhile, wednesday, governor romney's oldest son tagg joked about his reaction about some of the contentious exchanges during tuesday's debate. >> what is it like for you to hear the president of the united states call your dad a liar? >> you know -- >> how does that make you feel? >> well, you want to rush out and take a swing at him. but you know you can't do that. well, first, there's a lot of secret service between you and women, but also, this is the nature of the process. they're going to try to do everything they can do to try to make my dad into something he's not. we signed up for it, we've got

to sit there and take our punches and then send them right back the other way. >> and this morning, a romney campaign spokesperson told me that tagg was just joking about how frustrating this process can be for a family. tuesday's debate had another huge audience, more than 65 million americans watched. that's shy of the total from the first faceoff from denver. >> joe scarborough and mika brzezinski, good to see you. >> good morning, great to see you too. >> joe, i'll start with you as the dust settles on this debate. do you think either candidate gets a balance? or is it just neck and neck until election day? >> well, it's going to look like the race has stabilized, but actually something much bigger happened. mitt romney had a tremendous amount of momentum coming out of the first debate. he was like secretariat charging up on the rest of the field. and was about to blow past and had the dynamic remained the

same, i think mitt romney would've won the election going away. the second debate stopped that momentum, and i think we have him now in a place where they're neck and neck. neck and neck in florida, north carolina, virginia, now in wisconsin according to a new poll. and so it's going to be a tight race all the way to the end. and i really do predict by the end of the night, we're going to be looking at one state and one state only, it's going to be in the words of tim russert, ohio, ohio, ohio. >> yeah, some people think we'll be counting ballots late into the night in ohio. mika, i want to bring you in on this. the term binders full of women. it has taken on a life of its own. the democrats love it. they think it shows mitt romney at his most awkward. but the fight for independent, undecided women voters, do you think this is weighty enough to resinate? >> yeah, because i think women care about the economy, they want jobs, and by the way, want to be paid the same as their male counterparts. and that comment the other night showed, first of all, that he

was at the very least misleading about exactly what he did with those binders. he says he sought them out and asked for lists of women to hire. the truth, apparently is, that both candidates running for governor were given binders with names of women in them. so he changed that story to fit the narrative of the night. the bigger picture is he wouldn't have supported the lily ledbetter act which is the first piece of legislation the president signed when in office. the president set up the white house council on women and girls, working on getting women equal pay every step of the way down the road here in this administration, and mitt romney just completely doesn't have any leg to stand on when it comes to women and the economy. >> well, let me just -- >> he claims to. >> let me just say. willie geist and i find this highly offensive. we used to have binders filled with women, as well. >> i don't want to hear about your college days. >> well, yeah. >> ridiculous. >> i know you do take a different view on the binders full of women, maybe now we know

why given your past history with binders. let me ask you a more serious question. the recurring criticism of both of these candidates is that neither have been very specific, and in particular the president really going on the attack against mitt romney the other night. do you think he's really laid out a vision of what he wants to do for the next four years? >> no, he hasn't. and neither has mitt romney. neither one of these candidates have told americans, okay, you're having problems right now, this has been the roughest four years you've had in your entire adult lifetime, we were just talking on the set with steve rattner today, this may be the first time that we've had growth below 2% four years in a row since the 1930s. but mitt romney's a challenger. when people go into the voting booth, they're going to be looking at the guy that's been running the country over the past four years and there's a very simple decision to make. do i rehire him or try the other guy? and really, the burden of proof is on the guy that's been in the white house for the past four years. are his policies working? and where is he going to take us

over the next four years. for some reason, savannah, i'm not really sure why, both campaigns decided a year ago that they were not going to be specific about the future. and i think right now that's costing the president a bit more than it's costing mitt romney. >> so the answer to that question is, are his policies working? yes, they are, housing prices are up, unemployment is down, consumer confidence is up, foreclosures are down. the list goes on. >> all right. >> and the president claims he wants to build this economy from the middle out. if you look at the manufacturing numbers, that shows. if you look at the auto industry -- >> mika -- mika's going to the senate. she's filibustering. savannah. >> there's a reason you have a three-hour show. and i just got three minutes. >> all right. >> dogs and cats living together, the bad four years ahead. thank you for that. >> enjoy the rest of your show. joe scarborough, mika brzezinski, great to have you. >> you can't take her out anywhere. >> it's going to be a long afternoon there. let's get the other top stories of the morning from natalie over at the news desk. good morning.

>> good morning, everyone. wild weather in our nation's midsection overnight in mississippi and tennessee, emergency officials say a severe storm toppled trees, power lines, and damaged mobile homes. and at least five preliminary reports of tornadoes touching down in the area. power outages have thousands of residents in the dark this morning across mississippi and arkansas. meantime, out west in denver, crews are working to restore power after high winds knocked down power lines. progress overnight for crews battling a vicious wildfire just outside santa barbara, california. evacuation orders have now been lifted after firefighters launched an aggressive air and ground attack with the help of tamer than predicted winds. the fire had been threatening about 100 homes at its height. new evidence that taking a daily multi-vitamin pill can reduce cancer risk for middle-aged and older men. researchers studied 15,000 men over age 50 for 11 years and found that those taking the daily vitamin cut their risk of

several types of cancer by 8%. well, this year's deadly west nile virus outbreak is now the second worst in our nation's history. the total number of cases has now topped 4,500 and another 15 deaths were reported last week alone due to the mosquito-bourn disease. mary thompson at the new york stock exchange for us. good morning. >> european summit, investors are expressing little progress on dealing with the region's debt crisis. earnings in focus as tech giants microsoft and google report their results after the bell. and a late-day rally helped the dow eke out a small gain. 2/3 of the graduating class of 2011 left college in debt. on average owed $26,000. that's a 5% increase from 2010. back to you. >> mary thompson at the new york stock exchange, thank you. and in politics, as you know, it's better to be up than down. well, julia gillard, high heels,

really delivered a low blow in new delhi when her shoe got stuck in soft grass at the ghandi memorial. she explained she is fine, but unlike men who get to wear flat shoes all day, being a female leader has one extra challenge. one that we certainly can relate to, savannah gurthrie. >> we certainly can. >> still not easy. >> no, no. >> at least once a year. >> exactly. well, we've got this strong storm system up over the great lakes causing problems on both sides of the country. behind the system, we've got really windy weather and a lot of wet weather to talk about. we've got wind and heavy wind watches, wind gusts of over 50 to 60 miles per hour. we've got high wind warnings and high wind watches and then ahead of the front, warmer weather and stormier weather from charleston all the way up to pittsburgh. the risk of strong storms. not looking at tornado out of this, but a lot of rain and wind

and hail. the heaviest rain along the southeastern atlantic coast about 2 to 3 inches of rain. 7:19 now. taking a live look over the embarcadero. look at this gorgeous sunrise setting up for us. we've got a gorgeous beach day ahead. it's going to be downright warm in san francisco. 84 degrees there. 94 in livermore and 93 degrees today down in gilroy. temperatures are going to tumble the next few days. look at this, down to the 80s tomorrow, the 70s by saturday. we bring in the rain-cooled air sunday into monday and then tuesday, wednesday 60s inland. and that's your latest weather. matt? >> thank you very much. lance armstrong has taken some major new blows in the latest fallout from that doping scandal surrounding the legendary cyclist. anne thompson is here with more on that story. >> good morning, matt. it's been a brutal 24 hours for lance armstrong. he's been dropped by his

big-name sponsors, nike, anheuser-busch, and trek cycles. and he stepped aside live strong. now some are wondering if live strong can survive. >> reporter: for cancer survivors, lance armstrong embodied triumph. but no more. nike ended its relationship with armstrong pointing to, quote, seemingly insurmountable evidence he doped. nike has long stood by athletes in trouble. kobe bryant accused of rape, tiger woods fiphilandering. david epstein said the reports

portraying armstrong as a cheat and bully left nike with little choice. >> they had underestimated the amount of pressure brought to bear. there were ex-pro cyclists going physically to nike headquarters with signs saying drop lance. >> reporter: peter wears one of the live strong bracelets nike created. he read the anti-doping report. >> turns out lance wasn't honest. >> reporter: but the illinois wine store manager won't drop the wristband or the charity. >> live strong to me is a motto and something that we all need to aspire to. especially those that are afflicted with cancer. >> reporter: since august, when the agency moved to strip armstrong of his cycling title, live strong officials say donations have actually increased by $250,000. armstrong has always denied doping. but the scandal won't go away. in a statement, armstrong said, to spare the foundation any negative effects as a result of my cycling career, i will conclude my chairmanship. >> i worry that people will see this as a sign of weakness when it's truly a sign of leadership. and it's truly a statement that

this organization and mission means more to lance and his family. >> in a statement armstrong said he and his family will remain active advocates for cancer survivors and engaged supporters in the fight against cancer. charity watchers say there are tough days ahead for live strong, but they believe the charity and its mission will outlast the scandal tainting its founder, matt. and including those sponsors who dropped armstrong, they're going to continue to support live strong. >> all right. anne thompson, thanks very much. and coming up, a warning for parents, the adhd drug that's become a popular and dangerous study solution on college campuses. and the desperate battle to save the endangered orangutan. thirty-eight. schools. trouble, we all should help out. under thirty-eight they do. more a year. bucks. money for schools. every school dollar must be... spent on student learning. student wins. vote yes on thirty-eight.

just ahead, what matt left behind in west virginia years ago. the state treasurer just found

it. we'll explain. and an amusing and sometimes awkward family photo tradition for the last 23 years and counting. mom, pop it. ♪ two inches apart, becky. two inches. t-minus nine minutes. [ ding ] [ female announcer ] pillsbury cinnamon rolls. let the making begin. ♪ alright, alright. now this is a party. what is that? go, go, go. mmm. give me some of that sauce. i don't know, i think i might bail. yeah, it's pretty dead. [ male announcer ] one is never enough. new kfc dip'ems. freshly prepared tenders dipped in irresistible sauces. this is it. now this is a party. [ male announcer ] try a 20 pc bucket with 6 sauces. today tastes so good. and now she's made us breakfast. [ male announcer ] eggo nutri-grain waffles. you know it's made with 8 grams of whole grain

and is a good source of fiber. all they know is it tastes great. eggo nutri-grain waffles. the time now is 7:26. good morning, vsh, i'm jon kelley. the site of an early morning house fire is now a crime scene. this is near the 580/238 interchange. it happened early this morning. after wawards they did find a b inside. they aren't sure how the person died but are calling the scene suspicious. investigators are expected to be at the scene most of the morning. nobody else is being reported inside that home. police not saying exactly who died, but neighbors say a retired san francisco firefighter did live there with his girlfriend. investigators telling nbc bay area they are not far enough into the investigation to determine if this is in fact a homicide. right now let's take it

outside an see what's happening on this friday eve. christina loren here to look at another hot forecast. >> yeah, last day of the extreme heat. temperatures are going to be warming up and comfortable enough for you to sit on the warm sand of the beach. in san francisco, 61 degrees, headed towards the 80s. we're at 53, grab a jacket in san jose. as high pressure is in control our air quality could be much worse but we still have good to moderate air quality. you might notice a layer of haze throughout the day. we'll have better air quality in the weekend. 94 for livermore, 84 in fremont and 84 degrees in san francisco. so we could be talking about temperature records as we head throughout the day, but this is it. by tomorrow 86 degrees. we'll shave off another 5 to 8 degrees saturday into sun. the low 70s and showers early next week. mike, any improvement out there? >> you know, yes and no. 101 right here through palo alto where we had an earlier sig alert, that cleared just before 7:00 and so things are moving

much nicer northbound with those headlights coming toward us. southbound jam-up traditional at university. farther north san mateo, an early backup for both directions and coming off of the san mateo bridge for west 92 right around the interchange. very congested here on this side of the bay. 880 still slow and slow drive after an earlier accident at the toll plaza for the san mateo bridge. cleared, but there's still backups southbound coming out of the area. also south bay, there's your northbound slowing. check us out on nbc bay area on facebook, back in a half hour.

♪ an economic issue ♪ obama care >> we're back now at 7:30 on a thursday morning, october 18th, 2012 with a creative look at this week's second presidential debate from youtube star the gregory brothers. we're going to hear more of this video in just a little while. candy crowley playing a mean keyboard in this one. meanwhile, inside studio 1a, i'm matt lauer alongside savannah gurthrie. >> it's hilarious. also ahead, do you pose for your family picture ever do anything interesting? well, a group of siblings does. they've got this running tradition and it goes back 23 years. they always strike that same silly pose. it's fun and it's also helped

them through difficult times. they'll be here to tell us how it all started. and they are ready for their close-up. they've got their picture. magnificent creatures that are disappearing. their habitat being destroyed for a product a lot of people use in our homes. it's for a food product. we're going to show you what's being done to save the orangutan. but let us begin with a growing problem on college campuses. a drug that some kids are taking, even dealing that may surprise you. nbc's kate snow takes a look for tonight's "rock center." >> if you ask teenagers or a 20-something, they all know what an addy is, almost viewed as a form of caffeine or red bull. but one ivy league student learned the hard way, it's not something to mess around with. >> reporter: it was exam time at columbia university, stefan perez was in the library struggling to study with a friend. >> i told him, you know, i can't

concentrate. he said this is what you need and pulls out this pill. >> what kind of pill? >> an adderall pill from his prescription. >> adderall, it's a drug we've all heard about, widely prescribed for attention deficit disorders. but this isn't a story about adhd, it's a story of an ambitious student and many, many more who have misused adderall to get an edge. >> i had this tunnel vision, everything else was not in my zone. it was just me and my books and whatever i had to do. and i was just scanning pages like a machine. >> taking it all in? >> yeah, i wouldn't even want to get up and drink water. >> they call it the college crack, they call it the study drug, the focus. when you hear those terms, you know right there people are talking about adderall. >> reporter: robert l. hill, special agent with the federal drug enforcement administration says students who abuse adderall don't seem to realize the risk they're taking. >> it's treated as the same class as cocaine as oxycodone.

you can be charged with a felony because you're violating the law. >> how easy is it to get this stuff? >> almost as easy as buying books at the bookstore. >> wipe don't kids think this is a big deal? this is a controlled substance. >> because you're doing very well. when you're taking it most of the time. >> reporter: and before long, stefan said he wanted ready access to his own supply. >> i said, how did you get that prescription? he said, oh, go to psychological health services, they give it out like it's candy. >> he made an appointment and got his own prescription. we asked columbia for an interview, the university declined to comment on this case. but in a statement said, its student health service uses a detailed clinical protocol for evaluation of adhd and related conditions and takes a wholistic approach toward treatment including short-term counseling. stefan says he shared his pills, even sold some to other students, a mistake that came

back to haunt him one night in december 2010. >> it was an explosive bang that followed by this that knocked my door down. i was like, whoa. >> it was an early morning raid, stefan was caught up in a drug bust. the nypd's operation ivy league. >> in the end, stefan pleaded guilty to selling adderall, did 300 hours of community service. columbia expelled him. he also suffered mood swings and other side effects on adderall and he wanted to tell his story in part so other students would recognize it's a dangerous drug, it's not something to play around with, and he wants people to learn from his mistakes. >> that's important information. and by the way, if you want to see more of kate's story about adderall, that's tonight on "rock center with brian williams" at 10:00/9:00 central time. we'll get a check of the weather from al. >> thank you so much, savannah. and we've got a big change coming out west.

not only is it windy, but it is chilly. look at these temperatures behind this big low pressure area. we're talking about 49 in casper, that's 11 degrees below normal, st. louis, 62, 56 in chicago, seven degrees below normal. the rest of the country, we expect to see temperatures that are a little bit warmer as you make your way out west, central california, 80s and 90s, 80s down through the gulf coast, 40s, though, stretching all the way into the central plains. and we do have a risk of strong storms along the mid-atlantic states on into the appalachians and look for a lot of wet weather in the upper great lakes. afternoon showers move into the pacific northwest, the sunshine continues in the southwest where it's going to be warmer than usual on into southern california. that's what's goin we have a very warm day shaping up. good morning, i'm meteorologist christina loren. full sunshine from the coast all the way through your interior east bay cities. this is san jose, a little hazy. we're headed towards about 86 degrees here. it's going to be much warmer than average for this time of

year. 94 in liver mmorlivermore, 90 i. 85 degrees in san francisco today. tomorrow everything changes. we bring your temperatures down 10 degrees. we keep dropping into the weekend and showers arrive monday into tuesday. don't forget, you can get that weather any time you need it. go to weather.com. still ahead, one of the women shaping american fashion. we're going to go behind the scenes of her $2 billion empire. but up next, why some of the products you use each day are threatening an entire species of orangutans. [ woman ] dear chex cereal, you've done the impossible.

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back now at 7:39 with a desperate fight to save a species, the increasingly rare red ape. >> it's being described as a key battle to save the orangutan, less than 7,000 of which are left in the wild on the island. their forest habitat is being destroyed. but as i discovered in northern sumatra, they're fighting back. these have been rescued after being driven from their forest home. >> if they weren't doing this, they could be dead already. >> reporter: one of the habitats is being slashed and burned. he is leading a battle to save what remains. >> still remember me? huh? >> reporter: among the 46 orangutans in singleton's care is 2-year-old chocolate who arrived scrawny and bewildered after being rescued from animal traders. then there's losa, blinded after

being shot in the head. and marvel who was captured and chained so tightly that his foot had to be amputated. on the indonesian island of sumatra, less than 7,000 remain in the wild. the focus of singleton's battle is an area where huge forests are being illegally cleared to make way for plantations. until just a few months ago, all of this was pristine pete forest, one of the richest eco systems on the planet and homes to scores of orangutans. now looks like this, a scarred and scorched waste land for just about as far as the eye can see. another victim of the relentless march of the business. >> reporter: palm oil is a cheap, edible oil found in about half of all supermarket products. indonesia is the world's biggest producer, but at what cost?

singleton is taking the battle to the plantations. >> engage engine, one, two, three. >> reporter: was a powerful new weapon, a drone, to collect evidence of illegal deforestation. when they find an isolated orangutan, they move quickly to sedate and remove it from harm's way. >> he wouldn't have survived in there. >> no. no. >> this is absolute last resort. we have no choice. it's either he can have another life of another 40 years, maybe have several kids or stay here and die of starvation. >> reporter: under pressure, the indonesian government is investigating and recently revoked one company's permit. but the burning continues. the companies involved reluctant to answer questions. >> i've merely tried to get a response to these accusations. could you talk to us? >> reporter: singleton believes their future could only be secure if the indonesian government enforces its own laws and rolls back the assault on the forest. >> well, since we returned from

sumatra, there's been reports of more than 100 new fires in that area. the good news, though, is that little chocolate is doing well. he's put on weight, he's healthier, he's mischievous, and singleton's confident he can be eventually returned to the wild, savannah. >> fascinating story, heartbreaking too. ian williams, thank you. and still ahead, why charlie sheen will not be happy with who just replaced him as the highest paid actor on television. but up next, the siblings who have struck the same silly pose in family pictures for the past 23 years. we'll talk to them right after this. with over 200 varieties, keurig makes brewing a delicious cup of coffee simple. how does it brew such great coffee? well... inside the brewer are these green fields of coffee, and if you travel up this mountain, there's this huge coffee grinder. and then the coffee lands in this cup and water rushes through. actually, i just press this button.

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that's merrill lynch. ♪ tell me who's gonna work it out ♪ >> you're looking and listening to the gregory brothers' newest musical mash-up. a song version of the second presidential debate. they posted this just hours after that debate ended. so they were in an edit booth all night long. >> this is the third song. >> candy crowley. >> yeah. >> i have to say, it's very catchy. i wish it was available for ring tone. >> just wait. it'll be on itunes. i guarantee it. >> as you listen to more, we can play it now. they say after watching thursday night's heated bipartisan vice presidential debate, we couldn't help it was in the minds of millions of other disgusted americans.

democracy, more like democrazy. ♪ just because i am a lady ♪ woo ♪ who's gonna work it out baby ♪ i had the chance to pull together a cabinet ♪ ♪ brought us binders full of women ♪ ♪ my chief of staff said i need to be making dinner for my kids ♪ >> anyway, you can catch more online. >> it's great. well, we'll move on. everybody takes family photos, but these siblings have found a way to make theirs extra special. they've been striking the same kind of goofy pose for their family album for the past 23 years, and they are with us now. good morning to all of you. >> good morning. >> good morning. >> getting any harder to lift those legs, ladies as the years

go by? i was impressed. >> not yet. >> 1999 this started, right? >> '89. >> just a typical family picture. and who decided this should be done every single year? >> it was a group decision. we decided we'll do it year after year wherever we were. >> you've done it at weddings, all kinds of settings. but you all agree there are two that are particularly special over the years. why? >> field of dreams, because the president of field of dreams, significant to us. and so we really enjoyed having that picture. and second one, when our mom passed away, we went on the beach in galveston and were able to do it there the day she passed away. >> what does this tradition mean to you? there's a silliness to it and it's also touching. >> just kind of fun, i think the fact we can do something and we can be silly and completely shameless and have a good time. and we do it anywhere we go in

front of anybody any time. >> on the "huffington post" and as a result of we had a couple of friends on our show who also did the same pose, and you all realized you had the same kind of thing going here. and you guys got great reaction. a lot of people commented about your relationship really, about how close you all are. is that really the tie that binds keeps you guys together here? >> i think that's the best part about it. >> as we've grown up, we've been closer. >> you guys strike the pose now? >> we're going to take the picture. >> you haven't done the 2012 version yet? >> we have not. >> let's get together. >> all right. we want a little of the "today" show studio in it. how long can you hold that pose? here we go. >> focus, matt, focus. >> all right. >> good one. >> go back. you can let that go now.

is that good? my thumb in there. >> they suggested in my ear that we start a tradition like that. no. >> we're not wearing the right things today. >> not happening. >> thanks so much. and we're back with cee-lo green, but first your local news. how you doing? alright, alright. now this is a party. what is that? go, go, go. mmm. give me some of that sauce. i don't know, i think i might bail. yeah, it's pretty dead. [ male announcer ] one is never enough. new kfc dip'ems. freshly prepared tenders dipped in irresistible sauces.

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it is 7:56. good morning, everybody. i'm jon kelley. scientists learning more overnight about a meteor seen streaking right across the sky over the bay area. some say it was the size of a small compact car and looked like a trail of fire. some say they saw it from sacramento to santa cruz. nbc bay area the only station with this surveillance video from the lick observatory. you can see it right there across on the top. people we spoke to say, yes, it looked like a giant fireball. this morning scientists are just trying to figure out exactly where all the pieces may have landed from this meteor. there have been no reports so far of fire or damage on the ground, and fortunately nobody was hurt. a chp officer says only one person called in to report that event. can you imagine that? like a vw bug flying across the sky. christina loren, what kind of weather should we be looking for on this day? >> it's going to be hot but get it while you still can. tomorrow temperatures drop off by 10 degrees. we're starting out in the 60s in san francisco headed towards the

80s. very rare to hit the 80s in san francisco, but that will be the case today. 54 to start you out in san jose. it's going to be pretty comfortable here. i'm going about 86 degrees in san jose. now, we still have a red flag warning in place that should expire right on time in just three minutes from now at 8:00 a.m. as we are seeing much improved conditions. it's still rather dry but the winds have relaxed. 94 degrees in livermore, 84 in fremont, 84 degrees today in san francisco. we'll have your seven-day outlook in just four minutes. let's check on your drive with mike. well, we have a slow drive, san mateo bridge, look at this, it's almost stopped on the right-hand side away from us. sounds like a disabled vehicle somewhere across the flat section. i saw a truck headed to the area, hopefully to make that a quicker move. we're looking at the slowdown on the maps all down 880, across the bridge itself and south out of san leandro into fremont. san mateo really tied up. no incidents reported for 101 around 92 but all red there. of course your northbound routes in san jose, jon. back to you. >> a little rough out there, thank you very much. the latest traffic and news updates, check us out on nbc bay

area on facebook.

8:00 now on this thursday morning. it's the 18th of october, 2012. and right now, our crowd is getting a celebrity greeting, that's cee-lo green, "the voice" fame. he's here with the crowd. in a few moments, he's going to hang out with matt. >> that's right. >> it's going to be cool. >> we'll be talking to him coming up. good morning, everyone, i'm savannah gurthrie alongside matt lauer and al roker. >> eight years ago, tory burch was a young lady working out of her apartment. today her fashion empire is worth about $2 billion. billion dollars.

we're going to hear from the mogul and busy mom and the legal battle with her ex-husband that her company is now facing. and you may or may not remember or know, matt used to live and work in west virginia. >> that's right. huntington and charleston. >> well, you left something behind, and we're going to find out from a state official what it was you left behind. >> brought to our attention this morning, an article. >> in the "wall street journal" saying matt lauer has something in west virginia that he left behind. right? >> well, we're going to get to the bottom of it. >> i promise you, it's not. >> your mind does reel if you think about it. natalie? >> good morning, matt, savannah, and al, good morning, everyone. a young man who came to the u.s. on a student visa in january is charged with trying to set off a bomb near new york's ground zero. 21-year-old quazi nafis from bangladesh was arrested on wednesday caught in an fbi sting

operation trying to detonate what he thought was a real car bomb at the federal reserve building in lower manhattan. nafis has allegedly tried to recruit others to join him in his jihad, but police believe he acted alone. just days after the almost hostile second debate, president obama and mitt romney appeared together tonight at a new york political gala where candidates trade humorous one-liners. but on the campaign trail wednesday, both men were still sparring, especially for women's votes. and romney's son tagg jokes he wanted to, quote, take a swing at president obama during tuesday's debate. airline passengers are getting credit for saving the life of another traveler who wasn't even on the plane. sarah james has more on this rescue at sea. >> reporter: welcomed with a tearful embrace from mom and dad after a remarkable rescue at sea. >> i was very, very concerned. >> reporter: last week, the 44-year-old sailor was 270 miles

off the coast of sidney, australia when he hit stormy seas, a monster 70-foot wave lifted his yacht. >> it picked me up and rolled me over. >> reporter: the veteran sailor righted his craft. no sails and fuel running out, he activated his emergency beacon hoping someone would find him. >> good morning, ladies and gentlemen, it's your captain speaking. >> reporter: turns out rescue came thanks to sharp-eyed strangers. passengers aboard an air canada jumbo jet diverted in route from vancouver. passengers were asked to look out their window. several spotted the tiny craft in the ocean. his location pinpointed a rescue vehicle eventually arrived, a two-day mission ending days of anxiety for one mom. >> my prayers have been answered. that's what i said to him. >> reporter: as for glenn, he says the little things seem pretty wonderful right now.

>> after a week afloat, two weeks, something like a milkshake is extremely appealing. >> reporter: for "today," sarah james, nbc news, melbourne, australia. and here's brian williams for a look at what's coming up tonight on "nbc nightly news." >> coming up for you tonight, the folks in one part of this country who are discovering just how much the property is worth beneath their homes. we'll introduce you to some instant millionaires. that and more when we join you tonight for "nightly news." for now, back to you. and for a look at what's trending today, our quick round-up of what has you talking online. forget charlie sheen, his replacement on "two and a half men" ashton kutcher is now tv's highest paid actor. he earned $24 million just last year. behind kutcher are hugh laurie and ray ramano at $18 million a piece. alec baldwin and mark harman

earned $15 million. she is flashing her new figure in "shape" magazine, pink lost 55 pounds after the birth of her daughter in june thanks to yoga and a vegetarian diet. and be sure to drain the pool this winter so you don't end up like this german ice man who was hoping for a breakthrough. >> my new dance -- >> ahh, it hurts to watch. fortunately, he didn't seem to injure much more than his pride or his speedo for that matter. it's 8:05 right now. let's go back out to al for a check of the weather for us. hey, al. >> today's weather is brought to you by the makers of centrum. >> everybody who saw that, we all went, oh, that's going to leave a little bit of a mark. ouch, it hurt.

let's see what we've got as far as your weather for today. pick city of the day, midland, texas. news west 9, sunny, mild, 78 degrees. we look today for showers and thunderstorms, especially down through the southeast. we've got a little mix of rain and snow back through minneapolis. look at that. we are talking about a big low pressure system spinning around, going to cause some problems. let's see underneath the clouds and radar we go. show you we're looking at a risk of strong storms. expect to see along the mid-atlantic states, we've got partly sunny skies, showers and thunderstorms back through the west. and we're expecting plenty of sunshine here in the northeast. but rain comes later today. that's what's . we have some rain on the way, as well, but we have to get through the heat wave before we can enjoy the cool refreshing showers. 8:06. glassy conditions on the bay.

our fire danger not quite as elevated as it was overnight. still hot. 86 in san jose and 84 in san francisco. >> and that's your latest weather. >> all right. well, as you said, there's unclaimed property for our friend matt in west virginia. this is from where he started his television career in 1979. any excuse to show this video. >> yeah, that's great. >> as matt went on to bigger things, he apparently left some money behind. he left something behind. >> along with his hair. >> we had no idea about this until we happened to see it in the newspaper this morning. it was pointed out to us. and now on the phone, west virginia's treasurer john purdue. good morning, thank you for being with us. >> good morning to you. west virginia is a beautiful, beautiful state as you well know. >> i miss it, mr. treasurer, great to hear from you.

so can you give me a hint? what did i leave behind there? >> is it money? >> matt left a little money behind here. you ought to come back, he could at least have a dinner here in west virginia. he could make a claim on our west virginia treasurer site. he left a total of $65 here in -- >> what was it in? a checking account or a savings account? >> that's correct. it was in a checking aount you left here in bank one. >> wow. >> did you try to reach out to matt? we just read about it in the paper. >> did you know where he was? >> we tried to reach out, but we -- but, you know, the "wall street journal" did a better job of finding him than we did. >> well, this is -- >> i was going to say, is that $65 with interest in all that time? >> no, there's no interest. that is his $65 he left here. and we want him to come back to west virginia and claim that money, but he could do an eclaim

on our site, which is simple to do. and we'd love for him to come back and enjoy west virginia again here. >> i will do that, mr. treasurer. thank you very much for calling this to my attention. we're going to take that amount, increase it substantially and we're going to make a donation to the united way of central west virginia if that's okay with you. >> oh, that would be fantastic. that's a great gesture. we definitely appreciate that. and i'm so sorry, matt, you didn't get the $900,000 we have given away to one individual here in this state. >> wow. >> think someone just forgot about it? >> that's before his "today" show days. >> listen, it's great talking to you. please say hello to all the folks in west virginia. >> thank you and always good to listen to you and you do a great job for us and we're glad you're from west virginia. >> you're nice. >> thank you very much. >> it's monetary. >> well, yes, exactly. i thought maybe it was going to be an insight into your time there in 1980.

thinking maybe parachute pants, maybe a jean vest. >> we saw plenty of that in the videotape already. >> there's a story there. coming up next, international fashion star tory burch on this $2 billion empire she has built in just eight years. right after this. why should our wallets tell us what our favorite color is? every room deserves to look great. and every footstep should tell us we made the right decision. so when we can feel our way through the newest, softest, and most colorful options... ...across every possible price range... ...our budgets won't be picking the style. we will. more saving. more doing. that's the power of the home depot. right now get $37 basic installation on all special order carpet. for over 30 years. and it's now the most doctor recommended, the most preferred and among the most studied. . .

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back now at 8:13. fiscaltory designer tory burch has built her company from the ground up, and it all started just eight years ago in her apartment. nbc's harry smith caught up with her for tonight's "rock center." >> good morning, savannah. she's an international fashion mogul, savvy businesswoman, and mom. and i got to spend some time with her to see how this modern woman manages her world. >> reporter: we started following tory burch last february. >> beautiful. >> reporter: here at new york's lincoln center, the eyes of the fashion world scrutinize every detail of her fall collection. a season's worth of sales are at stake. burch and her team have been planning this for nearly a year and then it happens. >> 9 1/2 minutes. >> 9 1/2 minutes? >> yeah, exactly. >> 9 1/2 minutes to december

display her wears, and convince women to purchase. that's not been much of a problem for tory burch who in just eight years has built a company worth $2 billion. she creates in the hearts of women cry out, i want, i want. >> do you know what women want? >> that's such a hard question. i know what i want. i think some of the things i want translate to what women want. i would say i've learned what women want along the way. >> perfect. >> the business started on a kitchen table? >> yes, for two years i worked out of my apartment. >> out of your apartment. >> until i had about 16 employees. >> that's only eight years ago. >> yes. >> how many employees do you have now? >> so we have about 2,000. it's crazy. >> reporter: she is a kind of ideal modern woman, beautiful, but nice, rich, but also generous, powerful, yet

approachable. >> you have become the face of the company. when you started all of this, were you prepared for that part? >> when i launched the company, i was very nervous about using my own name. i didn't want to say tory burch, and i'm a very private person. i'm okay with being the face of our brand. it's taken me a while to be okay with it. but i'm also not okay with my life being public property. >> and we'll talk about that in a moment. it's not an overnight success, but eight years for a huge company like this. >> she is involved in every single aspect of what she does. the design, the stores, what everything looks like. and we spent a lot of time with her. and the thing i came away most impressed by was the fact that you never once saw a crack in the facade. she was calm, she was generous, she was open, and through every minute that we were with her, she stayed exactly the same. and what you see right there is very much what you get.

>> because now her personal life and her public life are merging -- >> in the headlines. >> yes, because there's a lawsuit between her ex-husband -- >> who helped raise the money to start the company and is still a major stockholder. he started his own company called sea wonder, and they look very much like tory's stores. so there's a very public battle going on right now. and he's suing her for a bunch of money. >> they're also raising kids and trying to do so jointly. >> all at the same time, and at the end of the day she says, it's her family that matters to her most. so this is excruciating. >> interesting woman. great profile, harry. harry, thank you so much. and if you want to see more of harry's conversation with tory burch tonight it's on "rock center" on nbc. coming up next, the star in the music world, we'll catch up with "the voice's" cee-lo green.

i've been a superintendent for 30 some years at many different park service units across the united states. the only time i've ever had a break is when i was on maternity leave. i have retired from doing this one thing that i loved. now, i'm going to be able to have the time to explore something different. it's like another chapter. and now she's made us breakfast. [ male announcer ] eggo nutri-grain waffles. you know it's made with 8 grams of whole grain and is a good source of fiber. all they know is it tastes great. eggo nutri-grain waffles. i put them in cookies, cereal, salads, and this is my famous cranberry baked brie. mmm, craisins make this so yummy. you double-dipped. i know -- it's so good.

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girl: don't look at me. second girl: your hair's a bit frizzy today. aw! ha ha! you should pick that up. [girls laugh] oh, you're such a dork. loser. here. let me help you with that. oops! ha ha! announcer: every day, kids witness bullying. oh, look! your crush is looking at you. [girls laugh] poor you. ha ha! announcer: they want to help but don't know how. bully: see? no one here's gonna help you... announcer: teach your kids how to be more than a bystander. visit stopbullying.gov. back now at 8:19 with five-time grammy winning singer, songwriter, producer, and soon to be author, cee-lo green and one of the celebrity coaches on nbc's hit show "the voice." good morning. welcome to our version of the voice here in studio 1a. good to see you. >> you too. >> you look like you're having

fun. >> i am. >> more fun than you thought it would be? >> it's about as much fun i thought it would be. i knew it would be a learning experience and i'm having fun so it's fun and fundamental. >> we are at that part of the season now where you start to get a good sense of who is out there and what kind of talent you have on your team. is there someone who stands out right now you think has a good chance to win this whole thing? >> last week, there was a battle in particular that was really impressive between two of my teammates and it was between amanda and trevon. and it was unfortunate because i didn't realize amanda was so talented, but i knew trevon was obviously a front-runner. >> explain for people who maybe haven't been following closely, the new concept this year is the steal. so you put two people together in duet, one of them gets the better grade, they go on, and then the other coaches can steal the one who doesn't go on. >> that's right. this new installment has added a new dynamic and depth to the show. and, yes, it makes it exciting.

>> it's perfectly feasible that someone who gets stolen from you could go on and win the whole thing. >> exactly. >> that's not going to feel good if that happens. >> isn't it ironic? >> that's right. tell me about lady who is the salmon-colored cockatoo you seem to have instant chemistry with. how did that start? >> well, you know, i'm very affectionate toward animals and lady just -- when we met, it was kind of very instant. and she's a star. she's an extension of me, and style, and sense of humor. >> you talk about an extension of you. and you've got other projects in the works. you've got a christmas album coming out. >> i do. >> you worked with friends on that. >> yes. >> like? >> sir rod stewart, christina aguilera joining me, and also the muppets. >> what was it like to work with the muppets? we've done that around here a couple of times. it can be a little chaotic. >> they're surreal.

to have grown up with them, you know, and to be that close to them and see the commitment of the people that make them come to life, very commendable. >> you're writing a book, writing a memoir, and it's personal, deeply personal. and one of the things i don't know people know about you, you lost both of your parents by the time you were 18 years old. there's no way that doesn't impact a person. >> yes. >> how has it impacted you? >> positively. positively. i do have a stronger sense of purpose and focus and discipline and obedience. and i do feel like i'm honoring the legacy of my mother and father. >> i'm sure they'd be very proud of you. by the way, you're leaving the show or taking a hiatus. >> i'm taking a hiatus for season four and coming back for season five. that's been misconstrued on occasion. i'll be back. >> getting back to your day job. >> yeah. a little while, yeah. >> always good to have you here. >> thank you. >> appreciate it very much. >> my pleasure. >> and you can catch "the voice"

monday and tuesday nights 8:00/7:00 central time right here on nbc. let's get some birthday wishes now from mr. willard scott. >> hey, listen, if you haven't tried it yet, you better do it orchard's finest from smuckers, unbelievable. happy birthday, how sweet it is. take a look, if you will. we have some birthday buddies today. here is clara oxholm, 106 years old today. enjoy celebrating her danish heritage. boy, they make some good food, especially the danish. danish danish. look at anne valack from richmond, virginia, right down the road, really 100 miles from us right now. and she is celebrating her 100th birthday. an avid sports fan and loves the "today" show. crazy about matt. she said she'd leave home for

matt. marion lasell. i remember when i was a kid, i always wanted a lasell. 100 years old today. eats peanut butter, hope it's smuckers, that way you'll live forever. we have martha, beautiful martha dail from washington, d.c. i know that town, it's right here where we're sitting. part of the same land. she loves baseball and apple pie, can't be more american than that. how about nate sheckman, 100 years old today, secret to longevity, a little scotch about 5:00 in the evening when the sun is hanging over the yard. anyway, happy birthday, nate. good name. god love you. florence, oh, that's a nice name, florence westerland. grass valley, california, 104, and she loves to

he outdoors. exercise outdoors in california, live forever. edythe levine 100 years old today, reads the newspaper every day. crazy about politics. how about you? in this city, they're crazy about -- got to be crazy to be in politics. anyway, back to new york. >> all right, willard, thank you very much. just ahead, bobby teaches savannah chicken recipes. e

. good thursday morning to you. an early morning house fire has now turned into a crime scene. firefighters put out a fire on san carlos in castro valley early this morning. after that, they found a body inside. they're not sure how that person died. no one else was in the home. police are not saying who died, but neibors say a retired san francisco firefighter lived there with hisors say they're n far enough into the investigation to determine if this is an actual homicide. let's check the commute. >> we have a slow drive.

very heavy throughout the south bay. this is 280 north coming toward 880. the red strip is north 280. 85 and 101 also throw, but not quite so pad. and a slower drive south 880 out of the east bay. fremont, union city, all very slow. an earlier accident has cleared, but still slow in through san ramon. back to you. and thank you for joining us for the latest traffic and news updates. thirty-eight mean? funding. restores what we've lost... music and science labs. and your school. can get a world-class education. and sacramento can't touch it. me? the sky's my limit.

it's 8:30 now on a thursday morning. it's the 18th of october, 2012. it's a great morning here in new york. bright sunshine, moderate temperatures, and people riding on other people's shoulders. they don't even know each other. >> i know. >> i'm matt lauer along with savannah gurthrie. natalie morales and al roker. and coming up, we have been waiting for this all day. more of savannah's cooking. >> i learned a lot yesterday. i don't know if you did.

we learned sauces and chopping an onion, a new technique for that or any technique. >> chicken has bones. >> well, i learned what those bones looked like. today, we're going to cook the chicken. we have a couple of recipes. bobby claims they are no-fail. no fail for him. >> yeah. i know. my results may vary. okay. also ahead in the fashion world. you know youth is usually revered. but one photographer actually sees beauty very differently. focusing his camera on some stylish women in their 70s and up. we're going to talk to him and meet three of his stunning models joining us, as well. >> those are ladies with style right there. >> absolutely. >> they wear it proudly. and on a more serious note. october is bullying month. bullying prevention month i should say. let's take a unique look at a high school, from someone who was targeted and some of the kids who did the bullying.

a story that all parents and kids need to see. >> we don't always get that perspective. it's a good story. we have that just ahead. but we should get a check of the weather. >> looking ahead to the weekend starting with tomorrow, we've got wet weather, heavy rain in the northeast, and the pacific northwest. in between, hot weather, sunny skies through the gulf coast, showers around the ohio river valley. on saturday, rain in new england and the pacific northwest. cool conditions around the great lakes, rest of the country looking pretty good. sunday, sunday! sunny skies along the eastern seaboard, mountain snows in the cascades, sunny and warm, texas on into the southwest. 8:32. get a mental picture of this. beautiful conditions. almost glassy out here on the bay. this is the embark daspectaculae for one more today. we're at 94 in livermore, 93 fairfield, 85 oakland.

84 a rare treat for everybody in the city. tomorrow we take temperatures down by ten degrees. the 70s return and then rain early next week. and if you need that weather, check it out on the weather channel on cable or weather.com online. marlowe thomas is here with a story about bullying from the perspective of the victim and her tormenter.

back now at 8:35. we've heard many stories from victims of bullying and the profound effect it can have on the lives of kids. well, this morning, marlowe thomas is here with a unique perspective on this terrible problem, one we don't often get to see. good morning to you. >> good morning. we're going to take you inside an incident of bullying and look at it from all sides. the victim, the bullies and their parents. but the kids doing the tormenting and the choices they

make. they may surprise you. >> reporter: in the small town of central ohio, it's not surprising that the lives of these two young people crossed paths. for elizabeth and scott, they live just a dozen miles apart. >> we started hanging out and talking. >> we had a good time. >> reporter: but elizabeth who also goes by eliza didn't expect was for scott's close-knit group of friends to viciously attack her. >> they automatically hated eliza, they were jealous i was with her. >> including his best friend tyler gregory. >> we judged her by her pictures without even knowing who she was. >> the taunting began online. via text and on phone calls. >> they started telling me that i'm very ugly and i look like a troll and i felt like all my

self-confidence was ripped out. >> her feelings weren't on our minds at all. >> tyler's mom melanie gregory discovered some of his facebook postings and told him to stop. >> i was devastated because i'm like, what am i doing wrong? why is he doing this? >> then the harassment took a shocking turn. during a call, another friend of scott and tyler's got on the line. >> that girl got on the phone and told me that i should kill myself. i wanted to give up. i thought everything was gone. >> it's hard to hear because she's my child and i think she's absolutely gorgeous. >> she said she never wanted to speak to me again. >> reporter: like many victims, elizabeth rarely stood face-to-face with those who tormented her. a new survey shows 70% of students witnessed bullying online.

the awareness of the issue is on the rise. this video was created by two students hoping to get teens to stop victimizing their peers. its producers, scott and tyler. >> this was four or five months after having spoken to eliza. we were listening to the radio and they were talking about the suicide of a boy named jamie. >> reporter: the 14-year-old's suicide in 2011 came after excessive online bullying. >> his death really touched me because it really could be anyone. and the eliza situation clicked when i heard that. >> reporter: last spring, scott and tyler were asked to be spokespeople for an anti-bullying campaign. they accepted but initially kept their history with elizabeth a secret. >> i was ashamed of my past. but then i realized that this could be a positive experience

for others who might be bullying somebody. and if something were to happen, you would have to live with that guilt for the rest of your life. >> reporter: last month, scott and tyler apologized to elizabeth. >> i want to believe in my heart they've changed and they're not going to do this to anyone else. >> it's wrong how you're putting other people down to lift yourself up. we found that lifting people up lifts us up even more than putting people down. >> reporter: elizabeth has put the incident behind her. and was recently nominated to her school's junior homecoming court. >> my dad tried to be there for me telling me you're going to get through this. that is just a mountain that i've climbed and on the top of the world. nothing can bring me down now. >> of course, we want to applaud the kids for being honest and shows that even quote unquote good kids get involved in something like this. why did you want to bring

attention to it? >> because it all feels so helpless. you read about this epidemic, and kids being brutalized, kids killing themselves, and now there is really something we can do. today we're launching a campaign called be more than a bystander. and a whole wonderful group of people, the department of education, the ad council, aol, facebook, our foundation have all gotten together to launch this campaign to say to kids, you know, kids are seeing 80% of children are seeing a bullying incident at least once a week. >> and what are kids supposed to do? >> they don't know what to do. the parents should start telling them, this what you can do. you can try to remove the child that's being bullied from the situation. find a parent or parent or teacher and find them what's going on. and when you see a child bullying at school, include them, smile at them, be kind to them. and being isolated is what's really so tortuous for them. don't give the bully an audience. the problem is that parents

aren't really talking to their children. they're kind of waiting for their children to come to them. >> i was going to ask you about parents. we saw that mom in the piece and our hearts go out to her. she's horrified her son could be involved. >> she had no idea her child was a bully and found out about it and took it seriously. you have to take it seriously as a family issue. and if your child is being bullied, they don't want to tell. they're embarrassed. the best thing we can do now is get to the bystander. that's really the focus of this campaign and say you can do something about it. because most kids aren't either the bully or being bullied, they're the bystander. >> and wouldn't want them to be passive bystanders. >> that's right. >> and i should mention a quick congratulations is in order. you were just honored with the freedom award from the national civil rights museum. >> thank you. >> congratulations to you. well-deserved and well-earned. >> thank you. coming up next, three very fashionable women prove that age is nothing but a state of mind. we'll talk to them. but first, this is "today" on nbc.

when we think of fashion models, young women in their teens and 20s probably come to mind. but one photographer is hoping to change that. he spends his day photographing women in their 70s, 80s and yes, beyond, who pride themselves in looking fabulous every day. it's all part of a book called "advanced style," and ari is here along with ira, elona, and the spring chicken of the group, 79-year-old lindell. good morning. great to see you. how did this start? you were 31 years old, how did you decide to make a name for yourself photographing senior style icons? shall we say it that way? >> yeah, of course. i started four years ago, but i grew upeing very close to my grandmother. so i've always had an appreciation for older people. and when i moved to new york, i saw all these amazing women

dressed up living their lives to the fullest. and i wanted to put a focus on older women. >> so you just walked down the street and you have your camera with you and you approach these women? is that how it works? >> well, i knew about iris before, but elona and lindell, i met them on the street. >> did it take convincing to have your photos taken? or yes right off the bat. >> yes, right off the bat. >> you like this concept? >> i think it's wonderful he's doing this for us. not only for us, but for all those poor ladies out there who think that after a certain age they have to roll up and die or look like they're wearing widows weeds. >> 91, fashion icon, you shot to superstardom back in 2005 when the metropolitan museum of arts showcased your wardrobe in a major exhibition. how do you describe your style? >> i'm a geriatric starlet. >> a geriatric starlet. do you put a lot of effort into this every single day? >> no, no, no -- it all comes

from here. i don't think about it, i just feel it. and as the spirit moves me, i dress. i walk around in jeans most of the time. but when i dress up, i like to dress up. >> take it a little bit further. you're 92, right? >> yep. >> your an artist based in new york and you've become famous for your hand-made eyelashes. >> that's one of the things. >> how do you describe your style? >> natural. when i see the weather's cold, i take a sweater, but whatever i do, i collect colors and i thread colors around it that match. i call it creative dressing. >> what keeps you going, elona at this age in so many different directions. i think you're a cabaret performer, as well, aren't you? >> that's true. i tell little stories, you know, and i do little bit of, you know, a little -- >> a little kick, a little song and dance. >> when i get up in the morning,

i feel, i move my hips, i say, oh, i'm alive. >> you're ready to go. >> i'm ready to go. >> it's a positive attitude. lindell, you're the youngster of this group, 79 years old. you own a boutique here in new york for the last 50 years. i like your signature line. i dress for the theater of my life every day. >> that's right. >> that's nice. >> tell me about that style. >> because i feel that living my life and dressing up is so wonderful, i'm so lucky that i'm in a business that i can dress up. i'm not a little secretary where i can't do it, i don't work in a law office. i can do anything i want. and it's wonderful to be around all these women who i can help dress and let them do their thing. >> a little personal experience i want to relate here. iris, i ran into you on the street one day, we passed each other. and what happened with me, and i wonder if you get this all the time. you make people smile. >> yes, exactly. >> i think that's very important. life is very gray, and i think

when you dress up you feel happy. >> that's how i noticed them. they made me happy and showing their photos makes women who tend to feel invisible after a certain age makes them happy and shows them they can dress up and feel good. >> iris' rule, by the way, if your hair is done proper willly you're wearing good shoes, you can get away with anything. you live by that. >> i try. >> i want people to learn you don't have to give up, live your life to the fullest. i think there's so much focus on youth and look at these women in their 80s and 90s, it shows you there's hope out there. >> yeah. for the people who say the fashion industry is only for the young -- >> that's the problem, that's why the fashion business is not doing well. because they completely neglect our age. i'm 90, so i don't expect designers to go into that, but there's a huge market of people over 60 who can't find proper clothes to wear because they're

bombarded, the designers, i know lots of them and they tell them youth, youth, youth. >> there are very few stores that carry things for women who have style. and who are women. >> just as you do for people on the street, ladies and ari, you're making me smile. >> thank you. >> thank you very much. >> ari, congratulations, your book is called "advanced style." and up next, bobby flay teaches savannah no-fail chicken recipes. nice job. [ female announcer ] this is the story of sam,

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and sutter health -- our story is you. ♪ we're back at 8:51. it's day three of savannah's cooking school on wednesday. chef bobby flay taught me how to make stock, we chopped an onion. thank you very much. all about chicken. we're going to make two kinds of chicken. >> yeah. i think one of the first things people want to learn how to make. everybody should know how to roast a chicken. we're going to start by roasting a chicken. >> whole chicken. >> this is a whole chicken. and what i like to do to keep it simple, season it with salt and pepper very liberally. >> yep. >> got it. >> any salt work? coarse salt? >> i use kosher salt because it's got a nice flavor to it. i want you to take garlic and rosemary. >> just shove it in there? >> right. >> how far does it have to go? >> as far as you can get it in there is totally fine. >> i'm going to put these sprigs

and shove it in there. >> that's rosemary. now here's a trick that not everybody does. you put a little oil in a roasting pan and you put it breast side down, okay. and what that's going to do is achieve a nice golden brown color. lots of times when you put a chicken in the oven to roast, it never gets that nice golden brown. >> exactly. >> that's what we do, we -- >> what kind of oil did you use? not oil is good for cooking. >> exactly. i like to use canola oil or light oil and extra virgin olive oil for salads and stuff. if we did this for four or five minutes, we get this nice crust on the outside, actually starts the chicken going and gives it a nice golden brown color. we want that. this goes in the oven for 50 or 60 minutes. and you want to check it -- >> now, this intimidates me because i'm afraid i'll serve raw chicken.

>> what temperature do you think we want to cook it? >> i think it's 160. >> that's pretty good. you've been doing your research. >> i do try. >> so 155, you want to put it near the thigh. that's going to take the longest to cook, that's the dark meat, and 155, you take it out and let it rest so the juices stay intact when you cut it. >> sometimes i feel i put it in there in the oven, it's going to be the oven that makes it appear artificially hot. >> no, you're taking the internal temperature. >> okay. >> they definitely thought about that. >> all right. >> so you sort of tent it and let it rest for a while and you have this beautiful roasted chicken and take it apart, comes apart really easily, you can take the breast off. you should always know how to roast a chicken. that's 101. >> and the garlic and the rosemary gave it flavor. >> and that's simple, right? >> it is very simple. >> you can do that. >> is this supposed to feed four people? >> that's probably going to feed two people. if you have any left over, make chicken salad the next day, that's great. >> we could do a whole other day

to carve that. >> now we're going to saute -- >> go that way. >> you want me to go this way? >> i don't know. >> my student's going rogue. these are just chicken breasts, boneless and skinless chicken breast, probably the most popular cut people buy in the stores, easy to find. again, lots of salt and pepper on both sides. you want the natural flavors of the chicken. and it's a canvas for lots of big flavors because it doesn't have a lot of flavor. >> and you put it in oil saute for how long? >> on one side, again, you see how nice and brown that is? you don't want pale-looking chicken. cook it on high heat for four minutes, turn it over and let it cook slowly and cook through. so now we have juices in here, which is a good thing. now i'm going to ask you to take mushrooms. you like mushrooms, right? >> my favorite. >> just throw them in there. >> what holy did you use? >> canola oil again. really simple. you need two kinds of oil in your house, canola oil and extra

virgin olive oil. >> all right. >> season that with salt and pepper. >> all right. >> you're constantly going to be seasoning. that's one of the things, it's what i say to most of my cooks, did you season it on both sides with salt and pepper. >> how do you know you didn't overseason it. >> well, don't put too much in there. >> oh. >> this is what happens. when you start cooking, you get lots of -- >> i know, everybody's coming. >> come on over here. >> all right. >> don't get distracted. can you move now, al? >> yes. >> so our mushrooms have cooked. remember that chicken broth you made yesterday? >> yes. >> pour a little in there, and that's going to be called -- that's enough. that's going to be known as the glaze in the pan. all those bits from the chicken on the bottom, you want to scrape it from using the chicken stock, and that's going to give it moisture. there's a reason to make chicken stock, you want to use it the very next day. >> all right. >> now i'm going to have you to -- let's make a vinaigrette.

do we have time? >> we do. >> dijon mustard, your favorite vinegar. keep going, that's good. pick up the extra virgin olive oil, pour that in there. >> the whole thing? >> i'll tell you in a second, three to one oil and vinegar. that's good. put salt and pepper in there. >> always season, bobby. always season. >> mushrooms right on top of the -- good thursday morning to p. the bay area boy scout being denied an eagle scout rank because he's gay plans to file a possession with the council. he says he's asking the organization to reverse its decision to withhold its eagle scout award. the scouts say he's no longer eligible because of his sexual orientation. so far 123,000 people have

pledged their support. want to check the forecast now. >> good morning. 95 degrees inland today. 88 bay side and at the coast 80. tomorrow, we'll take the numbing do numberers down by ten years. rain by the weekend. you've mastered the art of rising and shining.

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we're back now with more today on a thursday morning, 18th of october, 2012. a gorgeous day here in new york before the rain comes a little later on. that's okay. fall weather, we like it. nice to see people out on the plaza. we thank them for stopping by. we're in the kitchen where savannah's cooking school has been going on. i'm matt lauer along with savannah and al and bobby flay. >> we were talking about why we didn't tie the chicken legs together. >> that's next week. >> you didn't think i was up to tieing? >> no, but your roasted chicken is delicious. >> thank you. >> you're making us an entire dinner tomorrow. how are you going to do the show and the cooking? >> well, i'll pop up in the 7:30 half hour and make sure -- i'm going to do some chopping, dicing.

>> you're going shopping today? >> yes. >> today? >> yeah. i've got my menu planned. but i'm actually going to cook. i'm doing it. bobby's not here. no training wheels, and then at 8:00, you guys will check in, i'll cook and we're going to eat at 8:45. >> i think you're going to do great. >> i hope so. i don't think i'm as bad as everyone thinks. >> no, definitely not. >> don't all disagree at once. ceelo green sticking around. he's going to put in his two cents on some of the stories that have caught our eye today. all part of take three. >> and those chee-tos are part of it. >> love it. also, halloween is just around the corner. if you haven't started decorating yet, we've got everything you need from magic mirrors to fog machines. everything to creep out all the trick-or-treaters. thing. and later, boosting your credit score. we'll separate fact from fiction to get you on the right financial path. >> let's get a check of the top stories of the morning.

natalie's down at the news desk. good morning, everyone. the 21-year-old man behind a foiled bomb plot is now behind bars without bail. officials say they nabbed quazi nafis wednesday morning in a sting operation in new york city when he parked a van with what he thought was a bomb outside the federal reserve building. the explosives were fake and his associates turned out to be undercover officers. nafis had come to the u.s. on a student visa in january from bangladesh and had allegedly tried to recruit others to join him in his jihad. but police believe he ultimately acted alone. terrorism authorities say the public was never in any danger. president obama and republican rival mitt romney are trading barbs on the campaign trail. but some tough words are coming from the candidate's supporters romney's son tagg said in a radio interview he wanted to, quote, take a swing at president obama during this week's debate. he said it was a joke. meanwhile, bruce springsteen vows to campaign for the

president in the battleground states. sponsors are racing to dump lae armstrong after the seven-time tour de france winner stepped down from his cancer charity because of doping allegations against him. nike's decision came minutes later followed by anheuser-busch, 24-hour fitness and trek bicycles. others were considering cutting ties, as well. u.s. military and japanese officials are investigating rape allegations. accused of raping and robbing a woman. the incident has sparked protests on okinawa where more than half the u.s. military personnel in japan are located. wild weather in our nation's midsection overnight in mississippi and tennessee, emergency officials say a severe storm toppled trees, power lines, and damaged mobile homes in at least five preliminary reports of tornadoes in the area. power outages have thousands of residents in the dark this morning across mississippi and arkansas.

meantime, out west in denver, crews are working there to restore power after high winds knocked down power lines. progress overnight for crews battling a vicious wildfire outside santa barbara, california. evacuation orders have now been lifted after firefighters launched an aggressive air and ground attack with the help of tamer than predicted winds. the fire had been threatening about 100 homes at its height. brazilian model has been chosen to wear the coveted fantasy bra in this year's victoria's secret fashion show. decorated with $2.5 million worth of gemstones, including a 20-carat white diamond. ambrosia said the honor made her want to scream. if you ever thought about flying, daredevils jumped from a mountain in china during the first wing suit flying world championship. new mexico native jeb corliss was among the favorites, but a

south african jumper took the top prize. and dogs, well, they're just like us. so what really happens when they get their day started after you leave work? same old thing, they fight with the alarm clock, they throw on a shirt, do some dental hygiene, grab a bite for breakfast, of course, and then they hit the couch for some quality tv watching. time to change the channel, it's a dog's life all right. that's genius. it's now five minutes after the hour, love it. driving off to work. back over to al for another check of the weather. >> that is fantastic. oh, thanks so much, natalie. all right. let's see what we've got for you. starting off, we've got this big system that is pushing its way from canada all the way down to texas. heavy rain down through the gulf coast. we've got showers also around the great lakes, behind the system, some wrap around snow coming in, high wind warnings, high wind watches and wind advisories from bismarck down to tulsa. and as we go ahead of the

system, we've got a lot of warm air, moist air coming in, strong storms from charleston up to pittsburgh, the risk of not so much tornadoes, but a lot of wind, damaging hail and thunderstorms. rainfall amounts anywhere from 1 to 3 inches. stretching from new orleans all the way to wilmington, north 9:06. we've had full sunshine since the sun came up just after 7:15 this morning. this is san jose. a little hazy. happy on report we're in the good to moderate range of air quality. it will be hot later on in livermore, 84 fremont, 86 in san jose. meanwhile 84 degrees in san francisco. that's what happens when you at the time the get the offshore f. tomorrow, ten degrees cooler. major cooling comes in to play monday into tuesday. time now for "today's take

3," where we each give our take on three stories catching our attention. and sitting in with us today, this is an honor, five-time grammy winner ceelo green. >> hey, darling. >> you know what you're getting into? >> i think so. >> bring it like you always do. you're going to like this first one. usa today had an article, take one, year of the shirtless man. "elementary," "arrow," "last resort," and you keep seeing the toned male abs everywhere. we had the super bowl ad with david beckham shirtless. the price is right, male models. >> that's right. >> i support it. what about you? >> this does nothing for me. am i the only -- i'm not going to watch a show because a guy has no shirt on. >> see, i'm actually shirtless under this. >> i want a real show with a good script and plot and the

whole bit. i guess it's extra eye candy. >> the idea of shows trying to stand out and trying to attract women. so perhaps that's the way to do it. >> but i actually do agree with natalie, i don't know -- do men think that women want to see shirtless men? or do women really want to see shirtless men. >> i don't know. >> i don't want to know either. >> i don't want to see shirtless men because it reminds me of how bad i look. >> we see that all the time. >> i think when shows resort to that, it's sort of like a desperate ploy. >> in other words -- would you and blake shelton go shirtless on "the voice?" >> they don't need to. >> not that close together. you know, in fact -- >> well, you've performed on our plaza, we've had some rappers here who have performed shirtless. we had l.l. cool j. >> yeah. >> he's always shirtless. >> yeah. >> he doesn't own any shirts. >> flo rida went shirtless too. >> i think i know who has his shirt.

>> don nash's wife had flo rida's shirt. >> give us a verdict, are you pro-shirtless as a performer or no? >> i'm pro appropriation. if it's inappropriate not -- >> for example, when cy went shirtless, is this appropriate or not? >> let's see. >> yeah, that's not working for us, i don't think. love him, he's got plenty of style on his own. what did he say? he likes to dress cheesy. >> stay classy, dress cheesy. >> he's working this, isn't he? >> yeah. >> dress classy, dress classy, dance cheesy. now we've got it right. gangnam style. >> it's catchy. >> you know, obviously we're all focused on halloween now.

two weeks away to that. but already talking christmas and ceelo has a great new christmas album coming out. >> i do. >> who are some of the performers on the album? >> christina aguilera came and joined the album, rod stewart, and also the muppets. >> the muppets. >> cute. >> you have performed with the muppets. >> you have a favorite christmas song? >> my favorite christmas song of all times is "silent night" by the temptations. >> you did "sight night" last year at the tree lighting. you're going to be doing it again. >> yeah. >> made us start to think, though, as we are going to start hearing christmas songs, when is the right time to start playing christmas music? your album comes out october 30th. >> that's right. >> right before halloween. i think a lot of radio stations start thanksgiving, or -- >> the minute after you finish your meal, you start hearing the christmas music. >> and their ratings go through the roof. >> i don't know. people love the christmas music. do you have a favorite? >> i think mariah carey "all i

want for christmas is you." >> makes me want to dance. >> i know. >> how about you? >> i love "o holy night." so many people have sung it so beautifully. gives me chills. and there's so many beautiful versions of "o holy night." >> and just amazing. >> you've got to be able to sing, though. >> yeah. and i still, the end of charlie brown christmas. >> love that. >> "hark the herald angels sing." and when they take the breath -- >> i know, so cute. and this is "hark the herald --" >> not it, but it's close. >> we love it just the same. >> now you're in the holiday spirit. >> nobody chose alvin and the chipmunks. >> we like that too. it's funny. >> flamin'chee-tos.

>> there we go. >> in california, new hampshire, illinois have banned flaming hot chee-tos, the main reason, a lack of nutritional value. one snack-size bag, 26 grams of fat and the amount of sodium for the entire day. >> 380 calories, 26 grams of fat. >> they're also concerned about all the messy red fingerprints from this. >> yes, look at this. >> is it flaming hot? >> regular chee-tos give you orange fingerprints. >> have you tried these? >> we reached out to the manufacturer, and they say they are committed to responsible and ethical marketing practices, which includes not marketing our products for children 12 and under. we also do not decide which snacks are available on school campuses. >> if they're eating that at school -- >> i think they're good, too, but it is good to have a glass of water next to you. >> but i can understand the red fingerprints and also the nutritional value issue.

>> need some kool-aid. >> going old school. >> what happens when this happens? do you pick it up and eat it? >> five-second rule. every year they debunk this, apparently. >> i think every parent knows there's no truth to that, but we still pick it up, here, go ahead, kids, eat it. >> less than five seconds. >> thank you. >> you won this delicious bag of chee-tos. coming up next, gadgets for halloween coming up after this. >> there it is. [ woman ] ring. ring. progresso.

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"today" celebrates halloween is brought to you by snickers. nothing satisfies like snickers. this morning on "today" celebrates halloween, gadgets that are sure to spook any trick-or-treater or party guest. technology expert katie is here with the season's creepiest collection. good morning. >> yes, good morning. >> we are spending a ton of dough on halloween stuff. and it just gets crazier. >> yeah, it's one of my favorite holidays and i say why can't you go a little bit more high-tech? so showcasing some of my favorite halloween gadgets. >> the haunted mirror. >> the haunted animated magic mirror. and as soon as you stand in front of it. this is $75. awesome to put in the hallway if somebody heads down the restroom, freak them out. >> is it motion activated? >> it's motion activated and that's you, al, right inside of

there. that's what you don't know. it's a full-on surprise. >> that's good. >> let's move on to our next one. this is a hovering ghost. this is cool because it gets up to 6 1/2 feet tall. it works off batteries or you can plug it into an outlet. imagine trick-or-treaters coming up to this thing. totally freaks you out, right? i've got to get inside there and shut it off. >> okay. all right. >> moving on. >> big bugs. >> and if you live in new york city, this is a cockroach -- >> i killed one like that. >> we all have. you're not a true new yorker unless you stomp one of those. remote control, very easy to use. there's a spider and also a cockroach good for any age, $30. >> he's still alive! >> he's still alive. he just fell off the table. but a nice little remote controlled option. >> fog machines, i love this. >> yes, this is a fogger bubble machine. put the rc remote down.

>> fogger bubble machines and it comes in two different size bubbles. >> oh, wow. >> they're small or large. >> they look like eyeballs. >> you have an expensive suit on, you pop them and it's fog. don't be afraid there. here it comes. standby. and remember with this one, you can't forget the fogger or bubble juice too. put this on the stairs. >> that's cool. i like that. here's my favorite one. a few years ago, this is pac-man and i had to engineer a sound board to my suit to have sound effects. now there's eight sounds in here. so every time you move, you can be a cowboy, a monster, a robot, you can even be a hero. put this here, right? and if you jump, you get -- it's like you're mario. and you can turn it up really loud too. >> okay. >> that's pretty cool.

decorating your pumpkin. >> yeah. putting a candle inside a pumpkin is no longer, that's like mailing it in these days. this is a color-changing pumpkin light. and here's the best part, it's only $4 from party city. >> that's crazy. >> so a fun little gadget option there. and moving along to another inexpensive choice. this is haunted -- you can put these light up lights in your shrubs, in your trees, and i like to say with this one, you can keep it until christmas. because you know you have those neighbors that do that, right? >> holidays are fun at your house. >> continue all year. >> talking pumpkin. you put this inside your pumpkin again. going to activate on movement. >> not talking as much as screaming. >> exactly. >> just as you get ready to carve one, that would be great. >> well, if you carve a scary one, it makes it a lot more fun. >> this is very attractive. >> these are the best. go anywhere from $15 to $20.

they are moving hands. there's one in mummy form, there is one in reaching form. and here's my favorite one, like adam's family style. hold this. >> okay. >> three aas, and you can put them anywher in your home and let them do whatever you want. >> oh, wait a minute. oh, that feels good. nice. and lastly you've got a little app thing. >> we can't talk about halloween without talking about apps. this is one of my favorite apps of all time. this is ghost capture, 1.5 million downloads to date. you can add a ghost to it. you can change the transparency, change the size. you can add civil war ghosts, possessed demon children. >> you've obviously been to my house at dinner. >> and al, the people over at

ghost capture know you have eyes always in the control room, so they created your very own custom al ghost. yeah, you're omni-present. >> that's right. i'm always haunting my director joe michaels. all right, katie, thank you so much. >> yay. >> great to see you. and on october 31st, we're going to be throwing our annual halloween bash. so come on down to the plaza. and just ahead, best-selling author james patterson. his detective "alex cross" hits theaters. [ bump ] ugh. i'm the horseless headsman. i think you mean the headless horseman? no. have a snickers®. why? because you get confused when you're hungry. better? better. [ male announcer ] you're not you when you're hungry®. snickers® is halloween satisfaction. what a bargain! [ female announcer ] sometimes a good deal turns out to be not such a good deal. but bounty gives you value you can see. in this lab demo,

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still to come on "today," "time" magazine named him the man who can't miss. we'll talk to best-selling author many times over james patterson. and celebrating fact from fiction when it comes to your credit score. all that and more after your local news and weather. doorbell rings ] donuts? ♪ [ chuckles ] ♪ you're cute. ♪ [ door creaks, closes ] [ female announcer ] the protein effect. new special k protein cereal. with ten grams of protein and three grams of fiber... finally, a protein cereal to help keep you fuller longer. willpower. what will you gain when you lose? ♪ in everything you do [ female announcer ] add your own ingredients to hamburger helper

for a fresh take on a quick, delicious meal. it's one box with hundreds of possibilities. good thursday morning. it's 9:26. the site of an early morning hours fire is now a crime scene. firefighters put out a fire at a home in castro valley early this morning. after that, they found a body inside. they're not sure whow the perso died. investigators will be at the scene for most of the morning. police are not saying who died, but neighbors say a retired san francisco firefighter might have lived there with his girlfriend. investigators say they are not far enough into the investigation yet to determine if this is a homicide. scientists have learned more about a meteor seen streaking across the sky over the bay area. some say it looked like a trail of fire that could be seen from

sacramento to santa cruz. nbc bay area the only station with this video from this mete top of the screen. scientists are trying to figure out where the pieces may have landed. no reports of fire damage and no one was hurt. only one person called to report the event. we'll have a look at weather and traffic after this break.

the time 9:28. temperatures can climbing nicely. already at 71 in napa, south bay, 64. 61 in east bay. out in livermore, one of the hottest cities across the bay today. and we could be breaking some temperature records. 85 in santa cruz, the last great day to hit the beach comfortably. gilroy at 93. we're down to the low 70s monday

into tuesday. let's check on your drive with mike. >> tough drive past the coliseum. north 880, actually both directions. we had a multicar accident southbound 880. but further up, we had an accident that just seconds ago cleared from lanes. we should see some recovery, but slow all the way up into this area until the south bay with 101, 280 and 85 recovering from their morning backup. back to you. >> thank you very much. and thank you for joining us. another local news update in about half an hour. have you heard of the new dialing procedure for the 408 and 669 area codes? no, what is it? starting october 20, 2012, if you have a 408 or 669 number, you'll need to dial 1 plus the area code plus the phone number for all calls. o.k., but what if i have an 408 number and i'm calling a 408 number? you'll still need to dial 1 plus the area code plus the phone number.

so when in doubt, dial it out! although the aim is for us to have sex, i'm not a prostitute. you don't have to pay me up front. i have nothing against prostitutes, but there's a difference. we can talk about that later. >> i'm sorry. >> oscar winner helen hunt already earning oscar buzz for her latest role as a sex therapist in the new movie "the sessions." she'll stop by to tell us about the role which is quite a bit daring for the actress tomorrow on "today." a lot of good buzz on this movie in general. we're looking forward to that. >> while on the topic, actually, speaking of, there are 50 hot bachelors in our 30 rock -- >> lining up for you today? >> no, no, no. they're here for hoda and kathie lee. there they are. >> it's kind of dark down there

where they are in the green room. >> they're in the witness protection program. >> the hottest bachelor contest. so one from each state. 25 for hoda, 25 for kathie lee. >> if they had two from each state, it would be the senate of hot guys. >> or the noah's ark of hot guys. we digress. good morning, everyone. >> okay. moving on -- >> coming up, hey, i don't know if he's going to stay after hearing this, but a "new york times" best-selling author, he's written more than 90 books. now one of james patterson's most enduring and popular characters, detective alex cross is back thrilling audiences on the big screen. we're going to talk to author turned producer, he's a hollywood mogul now, james patterson. >> wow. >> amazing. and we'll get some financial advice about boosting your credit score. it can, of course, determine

many of your big purchases like buying a car or home, but what really impacts your credit? we're going to separate fact from fiction. and then later, how one cash-strapped town is sitting on a cash cow of money but it actually could be a risky proposition for the residents. interesting story. we'll tell you about that. >> a lot of the community's facing the same question. >> exactly. >> interesting answers. >> all right. first, though, al, check of the weather for us today. >> let's show you what we've got looking ahead toward the weekend. tomorrow, we're going to have a lot of wet weather in the northeast and new england. in between, plenty of sunshine, although a little on the chilly side and breezy through the central plains. saturday, gorgeous along the eastern sea board, more wet weather moves into the pacific northwest. few showers around the great lakes, sunny and hot from the southwest gulf coast into texas. and then sunday, sunday, sunny along the eastern sea board with lots of sunshine, along the gulf coast, more rain in the pacific northwest, mountain snows in the cascades and look for plenty of sunshine in the upper mississipp

9:32, already looked hot in san francisco with no natural cooling to cool you town. we'll see a really warm afternoon. 84 in san francisco. 94 today in livermore. and 89 in santa theresa. your beach cities will get close to 90. perfect day to sit on the warm sand because everything changes as we head through friday. we'll shave off ten degrees. the low 70s return by sunday. and then we get rain next week. and that's your latest weather. >> all right, al. thanks. coming up next, from the best-selling book to the big screen, author james patterson right after this. how you doing?

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there's an amazing statistic. since 2006, 1 out of 17 novels sold in america has been written or co-written by james patterson. and coming to a theater near you, "alex cross" based on his detective series. alex is a crime-solving single dad, finds himself in the cross hairs of a madman. james patterson, the author and also one of the film's producers. >> absolutely. >> what was it like being that hollywood producer now? >> it's a mixed bag. in the case of this, i love this project because everybody who got into it was really excited about it. tyler had never done this kind of drama before, matthew fox had never been a bad guy. so the passion and i think the passion comes out on the screen. >> "kiss the girls" came out in 1997, the amazing morgan freeman. >> yep. >> you're really jumpstarting and rebooting, in a sense, the alex cross character. >> he's closer -- tyler's closer

to the character in the book. he's more physical, and he can have a family. and that's the big shift here. the family is really integral for this story and we couldn't have it in "kiss the girls" or "along came a spider." >> this is an intense movie. action is intense. matthew fox isn't just a bad guy. >> matthew fox is great. >> he's a bad guy. >> way over the top in a good way. >> both he and tyler perry changed their physical appearance for this role. >> yeah, tyler took off some weight and he's on the cover of what "health" -- >> he got buff. >> yeah. i think he likes it. >> and matthew fox -- >> tyler is going to blow everybody's mind. he's very, very good in this. >> he's such a big guy. >> yep. >> physically big. did that present a problem at all in framing or in -- >> no, matthew plays football, college football. matthew's a good-sized guy. i don't think so.

tyler -- >> got on a stepladder. you know, obviously tyler perry known for, more famous for the madea roles. do you think his audiences will accept him? >> i think they're going to love it. i hope they will. as i say, it's a lot closer to the alex cross in the books and does a great job. it tested great. in five cities, atlanta, detroit, chicago, l.a., new york. >> so we assume -- >> tested great. >> we assume this will do well. will this be the first in a seri? >> that's up to tyler. if he wants to do them, we'll do them. i'd love to do them with him. he keeps getting better and better and he loved -- when i went to atlanta to meet him. he said, james, i would not attempt this if i wasn't sure i could do it. and he killed it. he killed it. >> as an author, you're the author, you're also the producer. were there compromises that you had to make? >> yeah. there's a few things. yeah. obviously there's tax things,

you shoot in certain places. but mostly it was pretty good. and the director, obviously has a lot of influence. this is a very smooth experience. >> okay. let's take off your producer hat and put your author hat back on. what's coming up next year? >> "merry christmas alex cross." "nypd" is out right now, a special police group in new york city that takes care of the rich and powerful. and "merry christmas alex cross," which is kind of the worst christmas anybody's ever had obviously. >> i always feel bad for alex cross. >> the sun is shining and then thunder comes. >> tell us about readkiddo.com. >> it's a place for parents and teachers and librarians to go and find kids that are going to turn -- find books that are going to turn their kids on.

my thing with parents and whatever is, they've got to get this in their heads that it's our jobs, their job, grandparents' job to find books for their kids. it is your job. and, you know, come the holidays and whatever, they don't need another phone. >> they don't need another video game. >> they need books. you can get them in libraries, stores, online. it's a great place to go and find books that your kids might love. >> it's a great initiative. james patterson, always great to see you. >> nice to see you. go to that movie. you're going to love it. >> alex cross hits theaters tomorrow. coming up next, separating fact from fiction to boost your credit score. mt. rainier. what if we could keep that much plastic waste out of landfills each year? by using just one less trash bag each month, we can. and glad forceflex bags stretch until they're full.* so you can take them out less often.

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this morning on "today's" money, credit myths versus facts. in this economy, raising your credit score is a must. but there's a lot of false information out there. here with advice, a credit coach and author of the 90-day credit challenge. good morning to you, jeannie. >> good morning. >> we know how important good credit is. but lots of misconceptions out there. how can a lack of knowledge hurt you? >> because if you don't know what's going on on your credit report, how do you know how to fix it?

it's just not having enough credit education. if you're going to use credit, then get some tips on it. >> you say it's important to check it at least twice a year? >> absolutely, check your credit at least twice a year. >> let's get to some of these facts or myths as you say. let's run through them. first, pulling your own credit report drops your score. a lot of people believe this. >> that's a myth, because you can pull your credit as much as you'd like and it does not count against you as an inquiry, but if you apply for credit, going to get a credit card, loan, those inquiries do hurt your score. so you want to be on top of that. but you can improve your credit if you haven't looked at it. >> good to know. next up is setting up automatic minimum payments is pointless if you have bad credit. myth or fact. >> myth. >> because you have to start from somewhere. so make it today. you want to start improving your credit, you're going to start paying attention, and you're not going to have new lates appearing because you set up automatic payments. so there's a new beginning for

you. >> absolutely. >> no new lates. >> you've got to start somewhere. next stop is closing an account helps your score, let's see if we get the music on time. myth or fact. >> myth. we want to see a lot of credit. keep it open. it's almost like i was juggling. if i juggle three tennis balls, that's good. but if i juggle ten and we have flames, tennis balls, knives, you'd be impressed. and that's how the credit report is. they want to secret cards, they want to see loans, you paying them on time and keeping them open. here's a little tip. if you pull out a card that you haven't used for a while, that will boost your score. >> even if you don't want to use it? >> well, i don't want you to use something you don't want to use -- >> you're saying it ultimately will help you. >> if you're going to go in that store, pull out that card, use it, you'll get extra points. >> next up, keeping credit card balances under 20% of the limit is good. myth or fact? >> that's a fact.

>> so if you are maxed out right now on credit cards -- >> right. >> try to have a goal of lowering them. you'll see your score go up. so that's a great thing. so just really be on top of it. >> okay. here's one that i think a lot of people think is true so you'll tell us what it is. utility bills do not report to the credit bureaus. myth or fact. >> that is a myth. and this is new. so this is so important. because no one knows about this. they don't think -- they think credit cards, loans, that's on your credit report. they don't think their gas bill is going to report their payment history. they don't pay attention to the payment due date. but you know what? they're reporting now your history. so it's very important to pay attention to that due date. >> make sure you pay those bills on time. >> absolutely. >> here's one that can be confusing. fico scores are different than credit scores. >> that's true. fico scores are different. 90% of lenders look at your fico score, not the credit scores.

so there's over 100 credit scores out there. if no one's looking at them but you, what's it matter? you want to pay attention to the correct score and that's fico. >> how does it lower your credit rating? >> 90% use it. how long you've had credit, what types of credit you've had. everything i've been talking about, but it's your fico score you want to pay attention to if you're going to be applying for a mortgage. >> last one quickly, secured credit cards are a waste of time. myth or fact. >> well, come on. you want to rebuild. so people have had hard times. if you want to rebuild, you may not be able to get a regular credit card. get a secured card. when that goes on your credit report, it does not report it's secured. it looks like any other traditional credit card. so that can give you new history and healthy new credit. >> all right. well, jeannie kelly, thanks so much. great information. >> thank you for having me.

coming up next, how one midwestern town could be sitting on a windfall of millions of dollars. first this is "today" on nbc.

across the country, cash-strapped cities are turning to a new and controversial way to raise money. >> that's right. allowing oil and gas companies to drill on public land hoping natural gas will bring in some much-needed cash. cnbc's phil lebeau is in youngstown, ohio. good morning. >> reporter: good morning, al and natalie. right behind me, the city crew is getting ready to tear down this abandoned home. youngstown has more abandoned homes than it can afford to tear down. so the city is looking to cash in by saying yes to fracking for natural gas. in youngstown, ohio, where a rebound in manufacturing has sparked a resurgence, the mayor is frustrated. he sees a city in decline desperately in need of money to

tear down abandoned buildings. >> if you wanted to renovate or tear down this building, how much would it cost? >> about $1 million to tear it down. >> to tear it down is $1 million. >> and on the other side, you see it's grass or a parking lot. >> reporter: tearing down 1,100 abandoned homes will cost youngstown at least $4 million, money youngstown doesn't have. so the city may sell its mineral rights and allow energy companies to drill and frac on city land. to force release of oil and gas is filled with unknown risks, like the possibility of causing earthquakes and ground water contamination. >> are you that crazy for money? >> i guarantee you, we will organize under the first amendment, everybody in here and bring the wrath of god into this chamber and power back to the people. >> other cities have already sold their mineral rights.

in ohio, the money from drilling will pay for new sidewalks, water treatment, and perhaps give the small town a shot in the arm. >> a few years ago, every store front just about was empty. now, there's new business coming in. >> as cities struggle with tighter budgets, a potential windfall of millions of dollars trapped under public land is a tempting answer to their cash crunch. >> this could be something that could help the area not only now, but ten, 20, 50 years from now. just like when the steel mills came here. >> reporter: back live in youngstown, ohio. and yes, they have actually started the demolition of this house. guys, one update on this story, last night the city council approved fracking on public land. they're hoping that perhaps there are millions of dollars of natural gas trapped under those lands that would help the city pay for tearing down abandoned homes like this. >> thank you so much. you can watch special coverage of "invest in america" all day today on cnbc. up next, kathie lee and hoda

and 50 of the hottest bachelors in the country. but first, your local news and weather.

good morning, everybody. gist over 20 minutes from right now, the bay area taking part in the great shakeout, the annual earthquake drill. this one designed to teach families how to be prepared when, yeah, the big one hits.

right now more than 14 million people are signed up to participate. 9 million of those from right here in california. other western states will be holding similar drills along with parts of canada, italy and asia. experts say brace yourselves, there is a 99% chance another big quake will hit california over the next 30 years. that drill starts at 10:18 sharp this morning. xwl the giant getting ready for game four. the g men down 2-1 in the seven game series, but they could even it up today. game time 5:00. tim lincecum is on the mound not giants. we have a good looking day shaping up. last phenomenal day to hit the beach. 2:00 a.m., santa cruz, 78 degrees. up to 85 later on this afternoon. and the warm-up is going to come to a screeching halt tomorrow, 10 to 15 degrees cooler in some

coastal cities. and we'll see a good cooldown inland, as well. 94 in livermore, 89 in santa theresa, 86 in redwood city and 84 in san francisco. much cooler weather and rain just around the corner now. we're expecting our first showers late sunday into monday. we'll get another stronger round monday into tuesday. could be measuring rain come wednesday morning. we're measuring the slowdown at the bottom of your screen as we take to a full, you see 9 cars starting to stop just behind the trees west 92. on the maps, and you as you approach 101, a backup. through oakland, both directions 880 slow. [ female announcer ] pillsbury crescents

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so when in doubt, dial it out! hey, everybody! it's thirsty thursday october 18th. wish you could have seen what just happened. you think the olympics are over, but no. we had about five seconds before we went on the air. hoda said, could we have some wine? jerry carried these over running and didn't drop, not a drop. god bless you, jerry. >> what a beautiful day it is, october the 18th. >> you know what? it is a good day. 26 years ago today frank and i were married. i can't believe it.

>> oh, my gosh. what are you doing for your anniversary? >> let's go back in time. >> could have used one of my songs. >> why you can use barbra streisand? is this your wedding picture? >> one of them. >> for your anniversary, i think it's time for a toast. frank couldn't be here because he's not here. we have two hunks are going to come. >> when you're a little lonely go to texas and jersey. hey, it's a little bit scandalous. thank you, honey. thank you, texas. thank you very much, guys. want to stick around for my anniversary party? >> by the way, they are here for a reason. the sexiest guys have been

selected. we'll meet all 50 of them. >> usually our guests are downstairs with me usually. there was not one cosmo guy down there. they were protecting you, right? all right, guys. >> thank you both. >> we are going to have a quiet -- i'm in previews. listen to my voice. i was doing a talk back till about midnight last night. frank is going to drive in. we are going to have a little bite to eat at one of our favorite little restaurants, then he's going to go home and i'm going to go back to "scandalous." i doubt we'll be breaking a chandelier tonight. >> we were with a funky guy yesterday. >> mario lopez. >> we helped him out with "extra." we didn't see it because you were busy and so was i. >> what were you doing? >> that is not your concern. here is what we went on with the antics with mario. >> i look at you and you look like women that can move. >> little salsa here. okay? here. oh, wait, wait.

oh, my gosh. i don't know if we can do this. there is a disappearing act after the show. >> that was on the air? that was one of those you think -- >> you know what? yesterday was a bad day for me in that sense. when i'm encouraged by people laughing, i sometimes can go overboard a tad. >> there was a lot of egging on. >> no. only the sound guys could hear stuff that was going on. there was a sound guy right in my line of sight who was dying laughing. it encouraged me, okay? if i went a little overboard, i'm sorry. >> so brad pitt, it's the second act here. we told but his commercial the other day, which we keep having fun with. chanel is getting a lot of play off that. >> i don't know how many bottles they are selling. >> there is a second commercial now. it's not just brad but brad and

two women. so it's a different version. we want to know if you think this is better than the last one. take a look. >> it's not a journey. every journey ends but we go on. the world turns and we turn with it. plans disappear. dreams take over. but wherever i go, there you are. my fate, my fortune. chanel number 5, inevitable. >> makes me want to giggle. i don't know why. >> does it a little? >> wherever you go, there you are. >> i don't disagree with everything you're saying. the journey's ends and we go on. >> no, we die. dreams take over? i just -- here's the thing, too. >> what? >> if the woman in this ad had been angelina jolie --

>> then we would have believed it. >> sales would go through the freaking roof. >> you're right. you solved that problem. >> he has no connection to those women. we know about his connection with angelina, which everybody believes is real. that's just my two cents. we would love to know what your three cents are. >> juliana and bill say they are ready for baby number two. they had a baby through surrogate. she is a breast cancer survivor and froze her eggs. she is saying this is working out so well with her son duke they want to have another one. they've got a couple of embryos on ice and are ready to go. >> what is the shelf life of the embryos? >> i think if they are frozen -- >> that would be interesting. i wonder if they are sensing some time constraint. it's awfully soon for the surrogate unless they will get a new one. >> they liked that one. >> they do, but that's hard on the body.

the other thing is, their life is so good right now. people that have one child -- you do not understand until you have two how much -- you get double the joy, absolutely, but the work. god bless them whatever they decide. it's ultimately their choice. >> uma thurman had a baby. "people" magazine got the exclusive. here is the name. are you ready? >> there will be a quiz. >> it is rosalind arusha arkadina altalune florence thurman-busson. but they are calling her luna. >> that is going to be her passport name? she has to fill that out every time? you know how many times you have toe fill out forms in life? >> the complete name.

it won't fit on any of the things. >> arusha is a city in tanzania. >> arkadina is a character. >> luna is the third child for uma who is 42 and had two other children, maya 13 and levon with ethan hawke. >> if you're wondering which tv actors -- >> this is according to "forbes?" >> according to "forbes." let's go from five down to -- okay. >> the top two are -- >> ashton kutcher is number one. >> he took over for martin sheen. >> $24 million. >> charlie, excuse me. >> hugh lorie of "house."

>> and that's gone off the air. >> $18 million. how about ray romano. $18 million for the reruns of his show and all those great movies he does. >> collecting residuals and his "ice age" voice. >> alec baldwin. >> $15 million. that show is also coming to an end. if you see them in the unemployment line. and mark harmon. you never hear about him. he is still married to pam dawber. he is a really lovely guy and "csi" is one of the highest rated shows. they take it away so fast. >> i no. you note five-second rule. you drop something on the floor and quickly scoop it up. >> i totally believe it. >> you eat it. >> yeah. not if you're in grand central you don't. >> every year the folks from clorox want to remind us the five-second rule isn't true.

let's watch this scene from "seinfeld" which makes you think it is. >> it was not trash. >> was it in the trash? >> yes. >> then it was trash. >> it wasn't down in. it was sort of on top. >> but it was in the cylinder. >> above the rim. >> refuse is refuse. >> it was on a magazine and still had the doily. >> was it eaten? >> a little bite. >> well, that's garbage. >> have you ever eaten anything out of the trash? >> i did last week. i'll be honest. someone had sent to me a homemade pie. all of a sudden i looked, i went to throw something away, i looked and it's sitting still in its little everything in the bottom of the trash. >> in the bottom? >> in the bottom, but it was in a clean bag, nothing else.

it was the first thing put in the garbage. i thought, that's just wrong. somebody went to all the trouble to make it. i picked it up, wrapped it up in aluminum foil, not sure who ate it. i left it for everybody. frank doesn't like stuff. he was so poor growing up, he doesn't like -- what? right. he doesn't like leftovers. he will clean out the refrigerator. just when i'm getting home thinking i can't wait to eat the rest of that lamb chop. gone in the trash. sometimes you have to retrieve it. >> i don't think there is anything wrong taking something out of the top of the trash. you've eaten six cookies, i can't eat those, i'm throwing them away. you throw them away in the trash. then later you rethink it. maybe i'll have one more. just one. >> i have never done that. >> oh, there is a napkin, something is in between. you take it out.

>> no. >> what i do to prevent that, you take detergent or dove or anything, dawn, and you pour it on top. >> of what? >> of the cookie in the trash. so you don't get it. >> so you won't be toeempted. it's covered with soap. that's it. this is my ihoda. >> it's called "seven day weekend." it's by a guy called jtx. it's a party song. picture the weekend starting and this is the song you want to hear. ♪ ♪ flip-flops and a snoop t-shirt yeah ♪ i'm feeling good called in sick to work ♪ at the drive through there's a

hotty i know ♪ yeah she climbed right out the window ♪ and i took her to go hey ♪ life's a radio ♪ turn it up to ten ♪ party people go ♪ call up all your friends ♪ rocking every night ♪ saturday forever "seven day weekend ♪ life's a radio ♪ turn it up to ten ♪ kicking off your clothes like we're doing it again ♪ laugh until we try ♪ saturday forever ♪ seven day weekend >> that is a party for the weekend, in the car, crank it up. all right. see? they love it. >> no. they love me. >> okay. i'm happy for you. is it okay or not okay to change your body shape for a role? >> to gain weight or lose weight.

clooney gained, matthew mcconaughey lost. you say it's dangerous. only the individual can decide whether it's worth it. >> hoda said, yes, if it's for your craft. film franchise is ready to terrify movie guyers around the world. >> we are talking to the "possessed" stars. >> two women get ambushed by our team on the plaza. their new look revealed. [ female announcer ] we invited women to see the not so pretty truth about their body washes. i wouldn't change. [ female announcer ] this test paper was designed to react like your skin. if other body washes can strip this paper, imagine how harsh they can be to your skin. oh my gosh. [ female announcer ] new dove is different. its new breakthrough formula changes everything with the blend of gentle cleansers and nourishing nutrium moisture. so what do you think now? definitely switching to dove.

[ female announcer ] this is new. this is different. this is care. but between check-ups tartar builds. keep it clean with new listerine® ultraclean™. it's the only mouthwash with a new tartar control formula for a dentist clean feeling. ahhhhhhhh. [ male announcer ] new listerine® ultraclean™. power to your mouth™. these are sandra's "homemade" yummy, scrumptious bars. hmm? i just wanted you to eat more fiber. chewy, oatie, gooeyness... and fraudulence. i'm in deep, babe. you certainly are. [ male announcer ] fiber one.

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back in 2009 a small independent film called "paranormal" hit theaters. it brought in $190 million worldwide. >> after two sequels, the demon returned. a fourth installment. katie featherston is back. >> going to be that weird kid from across the street. can you see him? >> what the hell? >> he's so creepy. >> what is he doing? >> freaky, right? >> what's going on? >> um, i don't know. >> what's happening?

>> i don't know. >> front door open. back door open. >> what's going on? >> what? >> that blonde lady was not katie. there is a reason for that. katie is here with us. she was the form in the back. it's not revealed in this clip. why? what's going on here? >> they love to keep my involvement sort of under wraps every year. i think it adds to the surprise. >> not because she is a bad actress. >> i hope not. no. i love being part of these. i think it's more fun if you go into it not knowing what to expect. >> it cost $15,000 to make in 2007 and brought in a killing. >> it's going to be every year, i would think. >> as long as fans stay excited, hopefully we'll stick around. it is because fans, they got behind us, they spread the word and come back every year which is so amazing for us. >> one of the fun thing about it trailers, you get to see how the

audience is reacting while they are watching it. i think we have a clip to show before we talk about it. >> what's happening? [ screams ] >> even the boyfriend. >> that's what sells it. if you like scary movies. there are people that stay away from them. apparently they are in the minority. >> yeah. i love seeing these movies with an audience. if you're experiencing it for the first time, it's scary and fun. if you're me and watching the crowd, it's even a better show. >> you know what's going to come. >> yeah. >> do you enjoy watching these movies? do you get spooked by them? >> i can't watch them alone. the first one, i got a new

version and i had to see it. i tried to watch it in my house and it was too scary. >> since the first one cost $15,000 to make and they are costing more, have you noticed a difference in the type of production quality? >> they are really great staying with the same kind of tone and indie feel. it still feels like a giant family coming together and making a movie. >> you've only done these kinds of things. are you open to romantic comedy? >> i'm into it. comedy is next on my list. that is what i want to jump into this year. i'm excited about that. >> we wish you great luck. "paranormal activity" hits theaters tomorrow. >> sara haines has the webtastic and the pick of the bunch. hi.

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what if we could keep that much plastic waste out. of landfills each year? by using just one less trash bag each month, we can. and glad forceflex bags stretch until they're full.* so you can take them out less often. it's a small change that can make a big difference. that makes tv even better. if your tv were a hot dog zeebox would be fancy, french mustard. when they magically unite, people would think "woah, this two dollar hot dog tastes like an eight dollar hot dog." download zeebox free, and say "woah" when you watch tv. time for our webtastic when sara searches the internet for

the next big video you want to pass to your friends. >> this week it's all about an adorable preschooler who understands the show must go on. >> nothing can stop cal from his preschool graduation performance, not even a wedgy. check it out. >> his mom actually posted this. he was 3 at the time. with the striped shirt. he's now 8. can you imagine looking and watching this some day? >> when you've got to get it, you've got to get it. >> he has no shame. >> he's in the front row, too. >> it's clearly bothering him. he is still working on that. he hasn't learned the discreet pull. and there he goes.

and we're back there again. it clearly is bothering him. he is not dropping the ball in regard to time. >> he's adorable. you've got to do what you've got to do. >> his mom says he's taking the attention in stride and handling like a star. >> thank you, sara. they've got new clothes, new hair and a new look. our ambush makeover from two lucky ladies from the plaza. >> and we are lucky because of cosmo's bachelors. we'll have a game of truth or dare. we got a real mom and the family car to do an experiment. we put a week of her family's smelly stuff all in at once to prove that febreze car vent clips could eliminate the odor. then we brought her family to see if it worked. tell me what you smell. something fresh. a beach.

take your blindfolds off. oh! look at all this garbage! febreze car. eliminates odors for continuous freshness, so you can breathe happy. have you tried this yet? save on febreze car and other innovative products with the october 28th p&g brandsaver.

delicious. but say i press a few out flat... add some beef sloppy joe sauce... and cheese fold it all up and boom! i just made an unbeatable unsloppy joe pillsbury grands biscuits. let the making begin. #. it's 10:26. a rally will be held in alameda county over the sheriff's plan to use drones. the sheriff's office wants to use remote control devices in emergency situations, but the

aclu wants them only deployed if a warrant is issued. the sheriff's office hasn't specified exactly what it would do with any information that it gathers. today's rally is set in front of city hall at 11:00. and we will have a look at your weather and traffic coming up.

look at how warm it is already. 74 degrees. the temperature 74, the time 10:28. we're headed toward the 90s.

near record warmth continues. last day to get beautiful beach conditions. that fog returns tomorrow. so let's take an in-depth look at santa cruz. 85 at 4:00 p.m. highs will be pretty warm. 93 in gilroy. we're taking a look at your giants forecast and we'll have your seven day at 11:00. the toll plaza still has a backup, but lanes are starting to move. recovery also for 880. earlier accident there at 16th has cleared. southbound side still slow getting into downtown. also slow southbound 101 from the airport all the way down to hillsdale. south bay, an accident at the center divide. >> thank you for joining us. we'll have more of the day's top stories coming up at 11:00 including the latest into the investigation into a suspicious

fire. we'll see you then. we are back on this thirsty thursday. it's time for "today's" plaza ambush makeovers. >> our crack makeover team is at it again on the plaza. contributor and stylist to the stars louis licari. and "today" and "us weekly" contributor and author jill martin. >> nice crisp fall day out there. >> great crowd, great ladies. easy to pick two makeovers today. >> carol is 62 from albany, new york. she told us she can't do anything with her hoda hair. she begged us to help her tame her mane. oh, she does have my hair. >> carol has a lot to say.

i'll hand you the mike. >> good morning, kathie lee and hoda. want to let you know, you think you have hair problems? look at me. i need help. i'm going to have jill and louis p help me today. especially here. let's have a great time, i am ready. >> she is adorable. >> i like it, especially here because she knows the spot. we have her daughter-in-law tracy. raise your hand. friends cindy and elaine. please keep on your blind folds till you give you the green light. here is carol van buren before. let's see the new hair. >> you look hot. wow! >> take off your blind folds, ladies. >> you look so hot. >> are you ready? >> i'm ready. oh, my god! >> you look hot. >> wow.

>> carol, would you look at that camera. >> what happened, louis? >> number one that is such a great haircut. you check that problem area she was talking about, the bangs she feels are thin and see-through and when it's more humid they become more frizzy. >> i thought you said human. >> humid. of course he gave her this great haircut. >> what do you think? >> she looks fabulous. she never does anything for herself. we are so happy. >> you feel pretty, don't you? >> i do. we are going out. >> she wanted something to go out in and was bossing me around what did i think i love? we started with the high boots from nine west and this great sweater dress from london times. >> go, carol. >> uber model. >> you can join your friends.

>> thank you. >> reagan copeland is 44 from seattle, washington. she hasn't changed her hairstyle since college. her fashionable 12-year-old daughter asked us to give her a brand-new style. >> the coolest mom ever on a one-year sabbatical with your kids. you have no time to do anything for yourself, obviously? >> no, no. we are living out of suitcases. we are staying each place about three to four weeks so i need something easy. >> ready to go. >> ready to go. >> what do you think about mom getting a makeover? >> i'm really happy about it. she's been wanting one for a while. she has the same look for like 20 years. she needs like a good change. >> how old are you? >> 12. >> she's known that look 12 of the years. i know you're going to rome so we are going to give you a great rome look. what do you think? she's speechless. we'll get going. >> what a beautiful family.

all right. she is here with her kids roseland, carson, landon. let's see the look for roma. oh, wow! kids, take them off. >> you look amazing, reagan. you want to look in the mirror? yes, you do. go, girl. >> oh, my god! >> the kids are going crazy. >> you look hot. that's all. tell us what you did, louis. >> first of all, now reagan is ready for la dolce vita in rome. thisses roman brown hair. she is worried about time, maintenance and money.

this is easy to keep up. great haircut. she can wear it straight, curley and the deeper hair makes you look younger. it's beautiful. >> i love the shape. >> has a gorgeous sheen to it. >> do you guys love it? >> that outfit is the perfect fall outfit. >> i love it. i had every staple you need to go to rome. you need a great trench, jeans from ydj, the pants from cole and the shoes from nine west. >> i've never seen my mom in heels. >> don't get used to it. >> congratulations to arson for being in the "new york post" featured as the place to get your blowouts at louis licari's salon. we have serious eye candy. >> look at sara. >> look at anthony. i love this racing car.

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neuroscientist. which one is he? >> texas. >> is he? here to give us a proper introduction is nicole beilen. >> these guys have been nominated by someone in their lives, usually a sister, a grandma, a mom, sometimes an ex-girlfriend. >> a grateful one. >> a lot of people are going to look at these men saying i want to go out with them, they are all single. >> they can get involved with this. >> yes. you can contact these guys right now. go to cosmopolitan.com. you can tweet them and find out what they are doing tonight and next week. there is one from every state. enough to go around for everyone. we had four weddings. >> i want to warn you, there are crazy women out there. >> crazy. >> there will be a couple of guys selected individually. we'll play truth or dare. we'll pick from your individual state. >> okay. >> who is the first state?

>> pick a good one. where is rhode island? come on out, rhode island. >> truth or dare. these are your choices. what's the most romantic thing you've ever done for a woman or do you want the dare which is take off your shirt and flex your muscles for the camera? >> i'll go with true. >> okay. >> girl couldn't sleep at night so i decided to drive 300 miles at midnight to see her and help her fall asleep. >> and wake her up? >> help her sleep. >> thank you, mr. rhode island. >> god bless you. >> idaho. where's idaho? >> i like this. let's do this tomorrow. >> here's the question, what's the most embarrassing thing that's ever happened to you on a date or show us your best dance

moves. come on. crank it up. >> dance. >> we need a little music. >> crank it up. >> i'll dance. i'm a fire dancer, but i have no fire tonight. ♪ >> you pick the next one. >> this is fun. >> we're going to cancel our other segment. >> alabama. >> here we go. truth or dare. the truth is look straight at the camera and give us your best pick-up line or take off your shirt and flex your muscles. >> oh, yeah. there you go. >> i think what we should do for everybody is take off your shirt

and flex your muscles. one round, come on. >> it's called sexual exploitation. >> do it. do it. don't be shy. one, two, three, flex. some of you are very slow on the draw. one, two, three, flex! >> this is a good angle, too. >> all these guys will be in the november issue of "cosmopolitan." >> we'll have a different kind of fun. i don't want to carve pumpkins. i want to hang out with the guys. >> thank you, guys. [ female announcer ] what does the anti-aging power of olay total effects

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yep...doh. [ boy ] slurpably fun and a good source of calcium. dads who get it, get go-gurt. you've got to be kidding me. sweetie, help us settle this. i say this and this is called southern hospitality. well, i call it the clean getaway. [ scoffs ] you're both wrong. it's the freshy fresh. everyone knows that. i didn't know that. oh yeah, that's what they're saying now. [ female announcer ] nothing leaves you feeling cleaner and fresher than the cottonelle care routine. try them together. then name it on facebook.

these are sandra's "homemade" yummy, scrumptious bars. hmm? maybe. rich chocolate chips... i just wanted you to eat more fiber. chewy, oatie, gooeyness... and, and...and then the awards started coming in, and i became addicted to the fame. topped with chocolaty drizzle... and fraudulence. i'm in deep, babe. you certainly are. [ male announcer ] fiber one. fiber beyond recognition. it's time to have a happy halloween today, a real happy halloween. every year parents and good-looking guys head out to pick the perfect pumpkin.

such a family pick to bring back home and carve. i can't wait till these guys show up at my house for my anniversary. >> if stabbing a knife into a gourde freaks you out, here is how easy it can be we want to thank our cosmo guys sticking around. >> and being exploited further by our producers. >> toll us how easy it can be. >> it is so easy. there are lots of great kits. it's supposed to be fun, doesn't need to be perfect. there are examples of these gorgeous perfect pumpkins out there but it's supposed to be a fun family time. if you want to buy the kits, you can. a lot come with stencils, but i love using wood carving tools. we use masking tape to keep our lines straight. after you're done you peel it off and we use these tools. this might be more of a teenager kind of. >> a dainty pumpkin.

>> exactly, but it's pretty and sweet. use the battery-powered candles inside. put vaseline on the cutout areas and that will hold the moisture in. >> the guys like that. >> you guys learning something? >> of course they are. >> this is unique. >> this pumpkin has a lot of personality. when you're out picking pumpkins, you want to look for a healthy pumpkin that is orange without green spots. >> one that doesn't stink is what i want. >> and you want to pick one with a little bit of personality already. we added more by tipping it over on its side. we used the stem as the nose. >> that's very cute. >> we gave it a zorro mask. >> that was very inexpensive. >> and very easy. this one we used one of the templates on. a lot come in the tools or you can download them online, as well. i didn't want to clean out the whole inside of the pumpkin because that would be messy.

so i just cut out a little bit on the front instead of carving all the way through. i stuck in these googly eyes i got at a craft store. you can use ping pong balls or draw with a marker. >> and fido? >> all the dogs are getting in on the action. pet smart recommends we put treats at the front door for the dogs, as well, that they can be trick-or-treating. >> what if the kid gets confused? >> these are cute little dog bones. we want the dogs that get dressed up -- >> a lot of people dress up the animals. >> you put the water out for them, you can serve soup or all different things. >> i'm going to ask you to make these with me, if you will. this is very easy. this is no mess pumpkin carving. take your sharpy. there you go. you draw the web on.

just draw a web. it doesn't need to be perfect. >> it can't be when i can't see. >> we get it. >> then take your knife and stab it with a wide shot. i knew you would have fun with that. wherever you want the spider to be. stab it in. wiggle it around. >> would you like to help me? step up here. >> take one of the spider rings. >> i'll help you. i'll get behind you and help you. >> these are these inexpensive spider rings. >> she is still talking. >> take the ring part goes in there. >> who cares? >> thank you. kimberly, thanks. guys, thank you. >> you guys are such great sports, thank you so much. >> sabotaging your weight loss.

first this is "today" on nbc.

when it comes to dieting, you've probably done it all, whether it's cutting carbs, skipping meals or a liquid cleanse, fast fads can sabotage your weight loss in the long run. >> heidi is a nutritionist for a hospital in new york. >> we've all tried, cutting out sweets, skipping a meal thinking that will help us lose weight. >> the greatest gift i could give my clients is help them figure out how to eat and not diet. that all or none thinking. i'm never going to eat a cookie again. so you want to eat all the

cookies now. >> should you set goals? i'm not going to eat cookies for three days but i'll have one on sunday. >> if that works for you. usually there is a difference in between inhibition and restriction. i can't eat the whole row of cookies. i'll have two, two tomorrow. >> hoda can't stop at two. >> i can't stop. when you eat, if you measure diet up or whatever it is in the morning, what i do is i feel like i'm already off it so i'll ruin the whole day. i'll start on tuesday. >> it is reframing. you didn't actually gain weight, you may nat lose weight that day, but you didn't gain it. why magnify that, compound that by totally pigging out? >> what about calories we don't keep track of. >> there are healthy snacks now. you have to train yourself to like them if you love fritos, it's hard to give them up, but

if you start eating edamame, they're delicious. >> the thing is to realize if you want salty, being salty peanuts or potato chips, maybe go for salty but something healthier. salty edamame or cut it like a chip but cucumbers and put a little salt on them. or gogo apple sauce. >> why don't you eat an apple? >> there is something about, sometimes you want something more liquidy. here is a sugar-coated wheat. it's crunchy and sweet. >> often it's the desire to chew. >> this is creamy or do the raspberries. or sorbet.

and portions. >> tomorrow